There is a reason
by Koomahana
Summary: there is a reason he couldn't revive her from death, there was a reason he couldn't bring her back from death. she was already reincarnated. "I promise to find you."
1. Chapter 1

**There is a reason**

Chapter 1: thinking of the past creates mistakes

Koomahana

**Disclaimer: Naruto is not mine; you want the real stuff get off this site**

_Thoughts_

_Paragraphs are memories_

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He made a promise to protect her

He made a promise to keep her safe

"I will get you back," he whispered as he glared at the failed sacrifice for his jutsu, he hadn't gotten even half way through the jutsu before the sacrifice convulsed and a strange light filtered through her eyes.

"_You'll never find her,_" the woman grinned at him, mockery lacing her words.

"Who are you?" he had demanded, staring down at the sacrifice in shock and curiosity

"_I am the guardian of death,_" the woman chuckled, making him grit his teeth in annoyance. "_The soul you seek has already moved on—you will never find her now._"

"Watch me," He growled out, the woman's face twisted into sadistic pleasure before morphing into shock as she felt his sword pierce through her lung and heart.

"_Ha-ha-ha, you truly belief that you'll find her?_" the woman asked, ignoring the blood that dribbled down her chin.

"I will," he snarled at her, twisting his blade

"_Fool!_" the woman cackled, barely wincing at the flaring pain. "_The Sanbi protects her now! You'll never find her! The smoke of her home hides her from your view! The Sanbi's scars shall hide her from all those who seek her! You will never find her!_"

"I will," he snarled again, lifting the sword and leveling it at her throat. "I will keep my promise! I will protect her! I will make sure she lives—that she'll survive! I swore to protect her! And I will not go back on my word!" The woman's expression smoothed out, her eyes calculating as she stared up at him.

"_You will stop at nothing?_" the woman asked curiously. "_Even if she seeks you to be happy? Even if she wishes for you to stop chasing after her?_"

"I will do whatever it takes to bring her back!" the woman's face smoothed out into a soft, almost caring, smile.

"_There are five fires floating upon a still lake,_" the woman said softly, her voice filling with affection as she stared up into the surprised, dark orbs of the strange man above her. "_There is the red flame, the blue flame, the black flame, the yellow flame and the violet flame. The red and blue flames die long before the spring is born. The yellow flame witnessed the spring's birth but dies soon after._

_The black flame watches as the spring grows but does nothing to strengthen it before he too dies. It is the violet flame that nurtures and raises the spring, turning the spring into something both loved and feared. The Violet flame protects the spring— though she is not alone._

_There is the lightning wolf, the crimson fox, the twisting shadows and the beautiful poisonous flowers; there is the monstrous bugs and the spirits of balance and one of animals. There are many guardians for the hidden spring—you will not find your love until it is too late. Will you still search for her?_"

"I will never give up," the man snarled at her

"_...then prepare for war,_" the woman sighed, closing her eyes in regret. "_For at the end, your love shall pass once more._"

"She will die?" he asked horrified, his dark eyes widening. "Again she will die? Can she not survive through even one war?"

"_She can survive..._" the woman murmured thoughtfully. "_But not with your influence... meeting you will only get her kille—_"

He snarled at that and removed the woman's head, never letting her finish her sentence.

He made a promise to protect her

He made a promise to keep her safe

"I will find you," he swore as he turned and marched away from the body of his sacrifice. "I swear I will protect you, Rin Nohara!"

_and awaken you memories in your new body, so that you will truely be alive in this world..._

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**Page 3**


	2. Chapter 2

**There is a reason**

Chapter 2: a few years later

Koomahana

**Disclaimer: Naruto is not mine; you want the real stuff get off this site**

_Thoughts_

_Paragraphs are memories_

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><p>…<p>

Recap

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"I will do whatever it takes to bring her back!" the woman's face smoothed out into a soft, almost caring, smile.

"_There are five fires floating upon a still lake,_" the woman said softly, her voice filling with affection as she stared up into the surprised, dark orbs of the strange man above her. "_There is the red flame, the blue flame, the black flame, the yellow flame and the violet flame. The red and blue flames die long before the spring is born. The yellow flame witnessed the spring's birth but dies soon after._

_The black flame watches as the spring grows but does nothing to strengthen it before he too dies. It is the violet flame that nurtures and raises the spring, turning the spring into something both loved and feared. The Violet flame protects the spring— though she is not alone._

_There is the lightning wolf, the crimson fox, the twisting shadows and the beautiful poisonous flowers; there is the monstrous bugs and the spirits of balance and one of darkness. There are many guardians for the hidden spring—you will not find your love until it is too late. Will you still search for her?_"

"I will never give up," the man snarled at her

"_...then prepare for war,_" the woman sighed, closing her eyes. "_For at the end, your love shall pass once more._"

"She will die?" he asked horrified, his dark eyes widening. "Again she will die? Can she not survive through even one war?"

"_She can survive..._" the woman murmured thoughtfully. "_But not with your influence... meeting you will only get her kille—_"

He snarled at that and removed the woman's head, never letting her finish her sentence.

He made a promise to protect her

He made a promise to keep her safe

"I will find you," he swore as he turned and marched away from the body. "I swear I will protect you, Rin Nohara!"

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End Recap

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_I swore to find you and protect you,_ sliding between the guards of the hidden mist, he swept through the halls and finally, finally, located his target.

The man he was searching for was standing before the crowd of his village, his elders and council members at his side. He was sort for being a teenager, looking more like twelve year old then a nineteen year old. With dull violet eyes, one with a stitched scar running down the right side of his face, the young man had short pale yellow-ashy hair. Yet it was his status that infuriated the strange man glaring from so far away the most; the young violet-eyed boy was the Jinchuuriki of the three-tailed demon.

_Just as Rin-chan was before him_, he thought, the girl's image flashing in his mind's eye. _This village will pay for what it has done to you!_ The man glared at the boy, feeling the fire of hatred rise stronger and stronger as the crowd listened to the boy's speech that was full of happy and motivating promises... promises that could be used as double-edged swords.

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"_We need to find her_," the deep and thick voice that sounded like hurricanes and grizzly old men sounded in his head, making him pause for barely half a breath.

"_You know I'm right! You know I'm not whole!_" the voice sounded again in irritation as the young man continued to ignore him and cut his speech in half. It wouldn't be long before the newest host would isolate himself so he could speak with him one on one.

"_Be silent!_" The boy snapped as he turned with a smile and wave at his people, waving them good-bye as he retreated from their watchful gazes. "_I'm busy right now! I don't need you making me look unstable after all the work that I just went through just to get this seat! Don't take it from me after all this time!_"

He snorted at the rant, he was half the reason the boy even got his dream at such an age. He settled deeper into the waters of the boy's mindscape, half-depressed at it's simplicity at first sight and mildly impressed with his own sea world below the surface. True the depths were filled with rocks with glowing seals spread out across their smooth volcanic surfaces, but that was hardly what the real ocean looked like. At least, he didn't think it looked this bland and lifeless; he had never been to the ocean before, it was something he truly wished to do. Its not like he could destroy any human civilization out in the vast ocean, it was peaceful out there. There weren't hunters that could harm him, there weren't hordes of shinobi trying to capture him, there weren't seals or ungrateful brats that wanted him dead just because _he_ was the only child nearby when his first host started to die.

_I was so close..._ he sank deeper into the waters, no longer seeking to speak with the ungrateful brat, his thoughts now turning darker and darker as he sank deeper and deeper into the endless depths of the metaphorical ocean. _I just needed a few more minutes, why did they take me away from her so soon? I could have saved her, I just needed more time..._

The image of his previous host appeared to him in the deep dark depths of the false ocean. Short auburn locks framing a heart shaped face, warm brown doe eyes dripping tears in pain and regret. Sickly pale skin without a scar or scratch for the acceptation of two violet tattoos on her cheeks—her clan's markings. White skirt, tattered and blood stained, billowing at her knees while her navy blue T-shirt reviled a large, thin scar edge jaggedly like some kind of serrated blade or an elongated eight-point star. A soft almost angelic voice whispering words full of sorrow and pain, asking for forgiveness yet not expecting to receive any and yet, asking for it anyways; as if asking made a difference.

His first host was everything he loved about humans: Kind and compassionate, respectful and honest

His second host was everything he hated about humans: Rude and callous, disrespectful and devious in every meaning of the word

Figures that the two were different genders; does that mean that they both represent their own genders? Does that mean he prefers the female humans over the male humans? What did that me—

"_Alright you damn demonic turtle! What do you want?_" Figures the boy would be ready to talk while he was deep in thought. Letting the image of the tearful girl fade from his sight he raised from the dark depths of his false ocean to meat with the boy he was sealed in—what it must feel like to know what waves are truly like.

"_Well?_" the ash haired boy asked when he caught sight of the Sanbi beneath the water's surface, just beneath his feet. "_I don't have all day, what is it now?_"

"_Patience is a virtue Yagura. You'll need it now that you're Mizukage—your trials have yet to end_." The boy snorted and gave him a very unamused look, making the giant, one eyed turtle chuckle at him mirthlessly. "_The girl has been born and you have your dream. It is time for you to search for her._"

"_Do you know where she's at?_" Yagura asked with a lifted eyebrow, playing along with the Sanbi's demands just to make the turtle shut up for a week or two—as he has always done for the past two and half years.

"_Within the five elemental nations,_" the Sanbi replied dryly.

"_Well how am I supposed to search for the girl if you don't know where she's at?_" Yagura asked with irritation, a tone of voice he used only with the demon turtle—only the Sanbi knew just how emotional the boy truly was.

"_Now that you are Mizukage, you can start sending people out on missions to search for her._" The Sanbi replied just as irritated with the violet-eyed boy. "_It is hard to believe that you're old enough to care for yourself but you still rely so heavily on your elders._"

"_I don't rely on the elders!_" Yagura hissed with a growl, his eyes flashing with hatred and fury—he truly hated those old men who thought he was just another tool to be controlled. "_I can't send out search parties if I don't know what I'm looking for! It'll never get approved! Give me something to work with! What's so special about this girl? What's unique about her? What sets her apart from everyone else in the five elemental nations?_"

"_She holds a tail's worth of my chakra!_" The Sanbi hissed lowly at the boy, his infinite patients finally drawing thin. "_Her existence is unique! Her mere presence sets her apart from everyone and no one! She can hide beneath your very nose or stand out in a crowd!_"

"_Then how do you expect me to find her?_" Yagura asked with a glare at the turtle be low him. "_You don't even know what she looks like! You don't know anything about her! No talents or skills, no outstanding abilities or even—_"

Whatever else Yagura had been about to say was cut off as the ocean suddenly erupted into hurricane—one like which Yagura had never seen before. The waters were instantly blackened and swirling high around him like some kind of angry beast. The winds bellowed in his ears and swiped at his clothing like the roars of a lion and the furious swiping of an angry tiger.

"_Sanbi!_" Yagura shouted in distress. "_Now is no time to throw a tantrum! We're in a hallway still! There are innocents nearby—"_

"_This isn't me brat!_" the Sanbi roared out, half in laughter and half in irritation. "_It's her! Finally, our connection has strengthened enough for us to feel her! It's the girl I've been telling you about!_"

"_What does this storm mean?_" Yagura asked as he kneeled where he stood, bracing himself against the howling of the storm. "_Why are we feeling her fury?_" Yagura watched as the giant turtle looked up at him curiously for a moment, his eye swiveling to watch the storm that was raging on around Yagura. When the turtle had an answer, he opened his mouth and let out a furious howl; understanding and anger filling his one good, crimson eye as his own chakra whipped up and surrounded Yagura protectively.

"_Sanbi?_" Yagura asked softly, breathlessly. "_What's the matter? Why are you suddenly so angry?_"

"_She's in danger!_" Sanbi roared as he sank in to the deep dark depths of the false ocean, taking the bubble encased Yagura with him. "_Someone's hurting her!_" Yagura's eyes widened in shock as he realized that the Sanbi, a demon known to be hateful of humans in particular, was actually protective of someone. Did this mystery girl truly exist? The Sanbi hadn't been trying to lead him to someone who could remove him from his human cage? The girl that the Sanbi spook so highly of, she actually existed?

Before Yagura could voice any of his questions, both demon and human felt the presence of a foreign chakra entering their shared body. The Sanbi hissed in displeasure and automatically lashed out at the chakra signature, only to have Yagura's chakra react protect the signature automatically.

"_Sanbi I can't fallow you this time!_" Yagura snapped out at the frustrated turtle. "_You go to the girl and I'll return to reality! Just don't do anything that'll put us both at risk!_" Yagura knew that the turtle was going to disagree, so he left before the turtle could say anything—but that didn't stop the furious roar that echoed between his eardrums.

"Yagura-sama!" Yagura ducked back words just in time to avoid a swipe at his throat, but judging from the aching in his joints he hadn't avoided all of the attacks sent his way. Yagura felt his body turn and swivel and bend in ways he didn't know he could bend until just then, by the time Yagura felt himself to be at a safe enough distance he opened his eyes and took in his attacker. Only he found himself staring into a single crimson eye with three spinning tomoe—Sharingan—Uchiha—Konoha! Konohagakure sent an Uchiha Assassin after him! His village is under attach!

Automatically Yagura thrust his fist out, not expecting to hit the Uchiha Assassin and was pleasantly surprised when his attach hit the stranger. As he blinked in surprise, Yagura stared down at his fist, impressed that he thrust so much chakra into his fist without realizing it and let it out like an explosion against the assassin's body. The Uchiha Assassin flew away from and went through three pillars and a wall before he landed in another hall and half destroyed it with his landing.

But Yagura didn't care much for that, he was busy trying to subdue the fire burning and eating away inside his head. He half-heartedly noticed his guards and other shinobi swarming to his side, a few medics rushing towards him with wide terrified eyes.

"You'll pay the price," the strange man snarled at the mist shinobi quickly surrounding him. "You sealed the Sanbi in her—and then ripped it out of her." Yagura heard his people gasp, there was only one other Jinchuuriki of the Sanbi. "That is cruel beyond anything truly acceptable—that was barbaric!" the man rose to his feet, his voice echoing as he straightened and seemed to stare pointedly at the huddled form of Yagura. "Now know that I will have my vengeance—your village shall be destroyed for what you have done!"

"N-never," Yagura panted, bracing himself with one hand against the floor while his other clutched his head in pain. He held his right eye closed and his left was glaring spitefully at the Uchiha Assassin, a kind of fury that no one in his village had ever seen on the blank faced, dead eyed boy in all of his near twenty years of existence.

"I-I wi-ll d-die," Yagura gritted his teeth and hissed in pain at the flames licking away inside his brain. "Be-before I-I let y-you t-touch thi-is vil-llage!"

"You will die either way," the man snarled in return, making the shinobi stiffen and ready themselves for an attach. "You hold the being that was the cause for her death! You are just as much to blame as the Sanbi is!"

"The Sanbi tried to save her!" Yagura cried out without thinking, surprising his people with his furious out burst. "His greatest regret was not having enough time to save her!"

"Demons are incapable of feeling regret," the man growled lowly, Yagura was sure that the man wasn't just talking about the Sanbi anymore. "So don't lie to me you useless little boy! Your village decided to use Rin to destroy the village! But when that failed you extracted the Sanbi from her and killed her!" one of the nearby Jonin's attached, having heard enough. Yagura coughed hoarsely, giving his first order to the medic attempting to tend to him, and quickly passed out.

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**Tell me you're thoughts!**

**Rate and review please!**

**On a scale of 1 to 5!**

**Page 6**


	3. Chapter 3

**There is a reason**

Chapter 3: Konohagakure sends aid

Koomahana

**Disclaimer: Naruto is not mine; you want the real stuff get off this site**

_Thoughts_

_Paragraphs are memories_

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><p>…<p>

Recap

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"N-never," Yagura panted, bracing himself with one hand against the floor while his other clutched his head in pain. He held his right eye closed and his left was glaring spitefully at the Uchiha Assassin, a kind of fury that no one in his village had ever seen on the blank faced, dead eyed boy in all of his near twenty years of existence.

"I-I wi-ll d-die," Yagura gritted his teeth and hissed in pain at the flames licking away inside his brain. "Be-before I-I let y-you t-touch thi-is vil-llage!"

"You will die either way," the man snarled in return, making the shinobi stiffen and ready themselves for an attach. "You hold the being that was the cause for her death! You are just as much to blame as the Sanbi is!"

"The Sanbi tried to save her!" Yagura cried out without thinking, surprising his people with his furious out burst. "His greatest regret was not having enough time to save her!"

"Demons are incapable of feeling regret," the man growled lowly, Yagura was sure that the man wasn't just talking about the Sanbi anymore. "So don't lie to me you useless little boy! Your village decided to use Rin to destroy the village! But when that failed you extracted the Sanbi from her and killed her!" one of the nearby Jonin's attached, having heard enough. Yagura coughed hoarsely, giving his first order to the medic attempting to tend to him, and quickly passed out.

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End Recap

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_Sad that someone is trying to restart the war,_ Hiruzen Sarutobi thought as he stared dully at the decoded letter before him. The fourth Mizukage was attached, who ever it was had managed to put a seal on him but it wasn't just anywhere, it was in his mind. The hidden mist village needed a master sealer—Jiraya was their only one left—and a Yamanaka clan member, one strong enough not to get intimidated by the Sanbi but not strong enough to exploit the Mizukage himself.

_That man should have known better,_ Hiruzen sighed heavily as he continued to read the letter, it pretty much was stating that they would detail everything to the team that arrived. But they needed a medic, a Yamanaka, a master sealer and... Hiruzen straightened in his chair as he reread the last thing in the list that they required for the Mizukage's health—an Uchiha clan member; preferably strong with his dojutsu. Narrowing his eyes at the letter Hiruzen wandered off in thought.

The Mizukage had informed his medic that the man had a Sharingan eye, that if not for the man's hateful and spiteful words, the Mizukage would continue to belief that the man was an Uchiha Assassin; but his words had given him pause. During his fight with the man, the Mizukage had locked eyes with him and that was when everything went down hill. The young man felt a stinging sensation within his skull and had immanently realized that some kind of seal had been placed on him. He didn't know if the seal master could remove it, but he requested one anyways. He didn't know if only an Uchiha could remove an Uchiha's seal so he asked for their strongest one. He didn't know what kind of damage had been done to him, so he requested their strongest or best medic available.

_The Uchiha clan won't just send anyone of their clan over to Mizu, especially if they're clan was requested..._ Hiruzen turned in his chair to look out over his village, his chakra reaching out for the two most familiar signatures next to his children and wife's—deceased wife's...

Before his thoughts could get too dark, Hiruzen felt his chakra brush against two familiar fires; reacting quickly before either could hide their chakra from him, Hiruzen snapped his chakra around theirs and gave it a hard push. There, just enough push to have physical reactions from the two—hopefully they weren't doing anything too important.

A scream of "Damn you sensei!" fallowed by the echoing female screams from the hot springs told Hiruzen where Jiraya was and the sudden dust cloud storming towards him told him that Tsunade would properly attach him first and ask questions later. Hiruzen sighed and turned back to the letter laying on his desk.

_The Uchiha clan won't just send __**anyone**__ of their clan over to Mizu, especially if they're clan was requested..._ Hiruzen thought, he could feel the two (very furious) chakras heading towards him. _But maybe they'll send one of their Jonin's with the knowledge that two of the Sanin will be going with them?_

"What the hell was that old man?!" Jiraya cried out as he burst through Hiruzen's far right window. "I was in the middle of resear—" Jiraya didn't get to finish his sentence before Tsunade burst through the same window and used him as a landing pillow.

"What the hell was that for sensei?!" Tsunade bellowed as she straightened and turned to him with a glare, ignoring her passably wounded teammate beneath her feet.

"I have a mission for you two," Hiruzen smiled at his two students, unfazed by their anger—he'd been on the receiving end of their ire before.

"No!" the two snapped out together.

"I'm in the middle of research," Jiraya complained with a pout

"I'm ready to leave the village!" Tsunade snapped out with a glare. "Shizune's waiting at the gates!"

"Jiraya I hope your research doesn't involve the hot spring," Hiruzen said softly, noting how Tsunade had immanently rounded on her white haired teammate with a glare that said 'that better not be true'. "And Tsunade-Hime, will you truly leave your village knowing that it's medical staff is poor and we're at the brink of another war?" That caught both of their attentions, the last thing either one wanted was another war on their hands—they've lived through two already, they didn't want to live through a third like their sensei had.

"What war?" Tsunade asked slowly, her eyes already lidded and calculating.

"Yeah old man what war?" Jiraya stated more then asked. "We literally just signed the contract with Kumo, what could they want now?"

"It's not Kumo its Mizu," Hiruzen replied, gesturing to the scroll still laid out on his desk. "Someone with a Sharingan eye attached the Mizukage; before he passed out he gave his last instructions to the medic tending to him. He needs a seal master, a medic (just for safety sakes), a Yamanaka and an Uchiha."

"Neither the Yamanaka nor the Uchiha clans would dare send one of their kinsmen to the land of mist." Tsunade reasoned with crossed arms. "Especially if they were requested."

"Which is why I'm sending you two," Hiruzen sighed. "They need a good medic, that's were you come in Tsunade-Hime." The blonde nodded in agreement but with a frown. "They need a seal master, you're our only one Jiraya." The young man pouted but nodded in agreement. "And as for the Yamanaka and the Uchiha," Hiruzen shrugged his shoulders helplessly. "The seal is in the Mizukage's head and he doesn't know what it was designed for, but he's put the village under security level one and under the commands of the council until we deem him to be at full health."

"How long has he been Mizukage?" Tsunade asked curiously. "Surly his people aren't happy about this development."

"They're not," Hiruzen agreed. "The message in the scroll continues to say that everyone in the team should be at least Jonin or S-ranked. The people in the hidden mist village are uneasy with the knowledge that it was an Uchiha, and possibly Konoha, that attached their Mizukage."

"Is there anything else?" Jiraya asked, standing to examine the scroll closely.

"Just that they'll give you details when you arrive." Hiruzen sighed. "The person who wrote the message says that the medic needs to be highly regarded, even in other villages. If the seal was designed to mess with the Mizukage's brain, it's passable he'll resist any and all treatment."

"He also says that if the seal was designed to mess with his personality then he'll properly end up dyeing for sending us so much warning and heads up." Jiraya mumbled.

"Now that explains why I'm on the mission," Tsunade grumbled. "No one's more regarded through out the five nations then I am."

"Yes which is why I sent for you the way I did." Hiruzen agreed with an apologetic smile.

"It'll be best to bring a Yamanaka and Uchiha with some medical skill." Tsunade replied with a glare that said 'you're still not forgiven'. "This way they can reinforce my will if need be." Hiruzen sighed and nodded in agreement.

"Then please help me pick out the other two members—"

"Whoa wait a moment!" Jiraya shouted cutting of his teacher, the scroll held close to his face. "Did you read this second portion sensei?" Hiruzen blinked at his student, he hadn't realized that there was more to the scroll, he thought it had ended there with their request for the team and their reasons behind it. "It says that the man who attached the Mizukage knew the previous container of the three tails! But that was Rin-chan!"

"Give me that!" Tsunade snapped as she punched Jiraya away from the scroll and slammed said scroll onto Hiruzen's desk.

"My word," Hiruzen mumbled with wide eyes.

'_...The man continued onto say: "__Your village decided to use Rin to destroy the (he said 'village' but I think he meant the 'hidden leaf village') But when that failed you extracted the Sanbi from her and killed her!"_

_Is it passable that the previous container for the Sanbi had an Uchiha clan member as a teammate Or maybe someone who was close to her and stole the Sharingan from a previously deceased Uchiha?_

_Please send us aid, we do not know how long Lord Mizukage-sama will lay unconscious and in pain...'_

"Bloody hell!" Tsunade groaned as she rubbed at her temple. "Kakashi's going to throw a fit!"

"Why am I going to throw a fit?"

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**Tell me you're thoughts!**

**Rate and review please!**

**On a scale of 1 to 5!**

**Page 5**


	4. Chapter 4

**There is a reason**

Chapter 4: temper tantrum

Koomahana

**Disclaimer: Naruto is not mine; you want the real stuff get off this site**

_Thoughts_

_Paragraphs are memories_

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><p>…<p>

Recap

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><p>…<p>

"Whoa wait a moment!" Jiraya shouted cutting of his teacher, the scroll held close to his face. "Did you read this second portion sensei?" Hiruzen blinked at his student, he hadn't realized that there was more to the scroll, he thought it had ended there with their request for the team and their reasons behind it. "It says that the man who attached the Mizukage knew the previous container of the three tails!"

"Give me that!" Tsunade snapped as she punched Jiraya away from the scroll and slammed said scroll onto the desk.

"My word," Hiruzen mumbled with wide eyes.

'_...The man continued onto say: "Your village decided to use Rin to destroy the (he said 'village' but I think he meant the 'hidden leaf village') But when that failed you extracted the Sanbi from her and killed her!"_

_Is it passable that the previous container for the Sanbi had an Uchiha clan member as a teammate Or maybe someone who was close to her and stole the Sharingan from a previously deceased Uchiha?_

_Please send us aid, we do not know how long Lord Mizukage-sama will lay unconscious and in pain...'_

"Bloody hell!" Tsunade groaned as she rubbed at her temple. "Kakashi's going to throw a fit!"

"Why am I going to throw a fit?"

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End Recap

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He split another bolder in half as he raced through his self-made training ground. He had been so close to finding her, but then the damn operation went south when they kidnapped some rich brat instead of the lower cost children like he ordered them to. Of course, those idiots just had to kidnap children from the five elemental villages! They couldn't keep to the less risky children; no they thought they were doing so well that they could expand the operation!

_Those idiots!_ He hissed he thrust his sword out and let slice through another tree cleanly. The fools had chosen some rarities, sure, but none of them were old enough to be the child he was looking for. Then again he didn't exactly look at all of the girls they kidnapped from across the nations, just the brunets, but that was beside the point. Rin was a brunet with warm brown eyes... and purple tattoos on her cheeks...

_Rin was always self-conscience about her look,_ He slowed in his movements, his thoughts drifting back to the girl he loved most in the world. _She always did hate her clan markings... and her wide forehead... maybe she had all that fixed with her rebirth?_

He paused as the thought bounced in his head; he slowly lowered his arm and turned to examine the damage done to the training grounds. If she had removed her clan tattoos, what else was removed? What else was different about her? Where they just physical changes or did she change parts of her heart as well?

_No, there was very little that she didn't like about herself._ He sighed heavily as he walked to the edge of the training grounds, where a small stream passed in and out of the training grounds. _She's more likely to change her physical looks to match something that she likes... that's if she changed herself at all._

Blinking dumbly, he stared at the flowing surface of the small stream. Upon it's surface, floating like candles, was an assortment of beautiful flowers; each different in their looks and coloring. Catching sight of something bright pink, he stepped forward on the surface of the water. Stooping lowly, he scooped up the small floating branch and held it up to the light.

_Rin chan liked cheery blossoms,_ he thought as he watched the sunlight filter through the petals of spring flower. _They were her favorite flowers and, ironically, her favorite color._

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"_You need to calm down,_" a deep baritone sounded, making the surface of the water ripple.

"_How the hell can I be calm?!_" He shouted, rounding on the turtle shimmering just beneath his footsteps. "_I left the council in charge! That was incredibly stupid of me! They're bound to kill me and reseal you! I'm still unstable in their eyes!_"

"_Please have more faith in your people Mizukage-sama,_" Yagura blinked dumbly down at the three tailed demon, he had heard the giant turtle mimic various voices before, but that was pitch perfect. That wasn't the demon turtle mocking someone from his village.

"_Who's there?!_" Yagura shouted as he snapped around, only to see that there wasn't anyone there.

"_Please allow me entrance Mizuka—_" it was the voice of a soft spoken woman

"_Don't listen to her!_" the Sanbi suddenly roared out, his voice making the surface of the water ripple. "_That's the seal! That damned man's seal is activating!_"

"_Can you do anything about it?_" Yagura asked taking a step back hesitantly, his eyes swiveling to look around himself desperately.

"_I can make it difficult for anyone to enter our mind, but that might hinder the help you requested... but..._" the three tails sunk into the depths of the ocean, leaving only his glowing crimson eye visible.

"_Mizukage-sama, please—_" the female voice sounded, but Yagura didn't pay it any mind, choosing to ignore the voice in favor of attempting to escape it.

"_But?_" Yagura asked, lowing into a battle stance.

"_But I might be able to take you to a safe place... but I don't know how long you'll be able to stay there... or if I'll be able to get you there..._"

"_Mizukage-sama you shouldn't be listening to the demon,_" the woman half-heartedly scolded.

"_Whatever it takes! Just make her go away!_" Yagura never did admit just how much he truly trusted the Sanbi. It was quiet as the Sanbi sunk lower into the water, till there was nothing but a faint glow from his eye. Yagura hissed as clear blue sky above him darkened with the beginnings of a storm, the waters beneath him rippled and swayed until they threatened to rear up and consume him whole. Before the first wave could do just that, the water surrounding Yagura roared up and protected him; surrounding him in a near perfect bubble as the Sanbi wrapped a protective tail around him and dragged him deep beneath the surface of the great ocean.

"_Sanbi?_" Yagura called curiously, what was happening? He never had this happen before, the Sanbi had helped him before hand but he had never really protected him like this before. "_What are you—_"

"_Be still Yagura,_" the Sanbi said, cutting off the violet-eyed boy as he swam deeper and deeper into the ocean. "_We'll be at the gate soon._"

"_Gate?_" Yagura questioned with a frown. "_What are you talking abou—_"

"_Yagura,_" Sanbi called softly, his voice just barely loud enough to reach the young man within a bubble held by one of his tails. "_I ask you Yagura-no- I beg of you, please remember your manners._" Yagura was quiet as the demon spoke, his eyes widening at the words spoken to him. "_She will be kind if you are, so please Yagura, remember your manners._" Yagura didn't get a chance to reply as he spotted a bright violet light far below them, even further away then the face of the Sanbi was from him.

"_We are at the gates,_" the Sanbi said softly, stilling in the deep dark waters. "_Child, are you there?_"

"_Sanbi-san?_" a soft musical voice called softly from the violet colored light, "_I am here Sanbi-san. Is it time?_"

"_Yes child it is time._" Sanbi said softly, before Yagura could say or do anything the Sanbi moved. Yagura grunted as he collided with the wall of the bubble, he felt his face begin to flatten as the Sanbi spun around and around so fast that the world was beginning to blur around him. as much as he tried not to, Yagura couldn't stop the scream that tore itself to freedom when the Sanbi released him and he was sent spiraling out of control towards the violet light.

"_It's alright,_" the strange voice sounded to him, thought he could barely hear it over his own startled scream. "_I'll catch you, just believe in me._"

_Who the hell can catch this bullet?_ Yagura thought sarcastically as his bubble entered the violet light. A soft chuckle answered him and Yagura found himself reopening his eyes (when did he close them?) to find himself standing in a place like his mind scrape but with no up or down and was completely made in the pastel shades of violet, amber, pink and green. Odd colors for a mindscape, other wise, it wasn't nearly as strange as the small girl standing in front of him.

"_Hello,_" the girl smiled at him, calm and gently like a loving and affectionate older sister. "_My name is Rin Nohara. I will protect you from the man that is trying to destroy you._" Yagura blinked, his eyes widening in recognition—that was all he could do before he fainted, dead in the girl's arms.

"_I will protect you,_" Rin whispered as she set the boy on the ground gently. "_Just as I protect the Sanbi._"

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><p>…<p>

**Tell me you're thoughts!**

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**Page 4**


	5. Chapter 5

**There is a reason**

Chapter 4: a new world and reminiscing

Koomahana

**Disclaimer: Naruto is not mine; you want the real stuff get off this site**

_Thoughts_

_Paragraphs are memories_

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Recap

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"_Yes child it is time._" Sanbi said softly, before Yagura could say or do anything the Sanbi moved. Yagura grunted as he collided with the wall of the bubble, he felt his face begin to flatten as the Sanbi spun around and around so fast that the world was beginning to blur around him. as much as he tried not to, Yagura couldn't stop the scream that tore itself to freedom when the Sanbi released him and he was sent spiraling out of control towards the violet light.

"_It's alright,_" the strange voice sounded to him, thought he could barely hear it over his own startled scream. "_I'll catch you, just believe in me._"

_Who the hell can catch this bullet?_ Yagura thought sarcastically as his bubble entered the violet light. A soft chuckle answered him and Yagura found himself reopening his eyes (when did he close them?) to find himself standing in a place like his mind scrape but with no up or down and was completely made in the pastel shades of violet, amber, pink and green. Odd colors for a mindscape, other wise, it wasn't nearly as strange as the small girl standing in front of him.

"_Hello,_" the girl smiled at him, calm and gently like a loving and affectionate older sister. "_My name is Rin Nohara. I will protect you from the man that is trying to destroy you._" Yagura blinked, his eyes widening in recognition—that was all he could do before he fainted, dead in the girl's arms.

"_I will protect you,_" Rin whispered as she set the boy on the ground gently, brushing his hair out of his eyes. "_Just as I protect the Sanbi._"

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"_Bloody hell!" Tsunade groaned as she rubbed at her temple. "Kakashi's going to throw a fit!" _

"_Why am I going to throw a fit?" __Slowly turning the three huddled over the desk turned to look at the still opened window, there crouching on the edge was one familiar Anbu agent, holding something small, pink, white and... And sniffing._

"_...why are you holding onto a child?" Jiraya asked slowly, his eyes locked onto what little could be seen of said child._

"_Ah Kakashi-kun you find her, that's great." Hiruzen smiled as he stood from his desk, shuffling the scroll towards his students and further away from the gray haired young man. Sniffing softly the child peeked out from behind Kakashi's arms, large tear-filled green orbs blinked fearfully at the once team._

"_Where ever did you find her?" Hiruzen asked as he waved at the child, the girl flinched and tried to hide herself in Kakashi's chest plate. Hiruzen sighed and frowned at the child, noting how she had recognized him but was still afraid of him. "What happened?"_

"_You wouldn't belief the kind of trouble a single child can get into." Kakashi sighed as he entered the room and leaned against the window seal. He shifted his hold on the tiny girl, shifting her higher on his chest as he spook to the Hokage._

"_Believe me I know," Hiruzen chuckled. "I have two sons—"_

"_Someone thought they could sell her to the highest bidder," Kakashi cut off his Hokage with a glare aimed at nothing in particular, clear hatred and distaste staining his words. "Pink hair is a rarity no matter where you're from."_

"_She's just a toddler," Tsunade hissed lowly, her brow was doing an irritated dance over her eye._

"_Barely even three," Jiraya agreed, looking like he wanted to go hunting—for one very unfortunate soul who happened to be the cause for his anger._

"_Are there any survivors?" Hiruzen asked, his voice chilled the surrounding air. The Hokage's face was hidden behind his down tilted hat—his fury and irritation weren't so well concealed._

"_Only the other kidnap-ies," Kakashi replied with a sarcastic but please tone of voice. "There were other shinobi from the other hidden villages, we worked together to..." Kakashi shifted his old on the pinkette in his arms carefully. "To free the others..." the look in Kakashi's one good eye said that the other shinobi also aided in slaughtering the kidnappers and (hopefully) the buyers. "We captains agreed to bring our main objectives straight home and request other teams to be sent out to the location to gather the others from our home turfs."_

"_I see," Hiruzen sighed and straightened slightly, his eyes once more evaluating the child and his shinobi. "I'll send out three other teams and some medics. Make sure to take her to the hospital before you inform her parents about her return."_

"_There's no need for that Hokage-sama" Kakashi sighed as he pulled the girl higher on his chest. "The girl isn't hurt, at least not anymore."_

"_What do you mean?" Hiruzen asked curiously, Kakashi shifted uncomfortable, bringing the tiny child closer to himself and higher on his chest, placing her head just beneath his chin._

"_...Jiraya-sama how well are you at finding seals?" Kakashi asked slowly, his attention shifting towards the white haired man. Jiraya stiffened, the scroll in his hands lowering from his face as he looked at the frightened child clutching to Kakashi for dear life._

"_Does she have a seal?" Jiraya asked slowly, rising from his seat on the floor._

"_I don't know," Kakashi sighed. "But that familiar chakra I spook of earlier..."_

"_Yeah,"_

"_...it was similar to the Sanbi's chakra signatures." Kakashi continued hesitantly, raising a hand to rub at his brow. "I don't know where it came from but it led me to her," Kakashi gestured to the child again. "I searched the area but I still can't figure out where the blast came from."_

"_How the hell is that passable?" Tsunade asked loudly. "The Sanbi is sealed inside of the fourth Mizukage; Yagura!"_

"_I don't know how or why," Kakashi sighed. "That's why I asked if Jiraya had any experience in finding seals."_

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When he finally reawakened, he refused to open his eyes; it had to be a dream. He wouldn't accept any other alternative—there was no other possibility, it had to be a dream. He listened to his surroundings, waiting for the birds to awaken and start their morning songs or the frantic sounds of his assistant or maybe even his personal medic.

"Nee-chan who that?" A childish soft voice asked curiously.

_Deep breath in, slow breath out_ he reminded himself. _It's just your imagination..._

"His name is Yagura," an older girl's voice sounded gently. "He's trying to sleep so we need to be quieter, okay?"

_Okay it's someone's cruel idea of a bad joke_

"Okay, can we plway a game?" the child giggled, with a twitching eyebrow he reluctantly opened his eyes; a golden abyss greeted his tiered sight.

"It'll have to be a quite game," a familiar brunet said softly, her hands gently weaving through another child's hair. "How about... hide and seek?" The child turned her high pitched squeal into a soft giggle. The older girl giggled softly, she pulled out a hair tie and quickly finished up the intricate braid that she had pulled the younger girl's hair into.

"All right Sakura-chan, go hide." Rin murmured as she lifted the child from her lap and gently pushed the child dressed in white away from her. "I'm counting to ten and then I'm gonna chase after you, okay?"

"Okay," 'Sakura' giggled and took off into the wide-open golden abyss that was the mindscape.

"...Girls are weird..." Yagura grumbled as he stared dully at Rin, the burnet jumped at the sound of his voice. Turning slowly the young teen blinked dumbly at him, so he elaborated his statement for her understanding. "There's no where to hide—" the girl laughed as suddenly tree's sprung into being around them, a still lake shimmered into existence just behind Rin and the sky turned azure without a single cloud. Yagura could even feel the tickling sensation of grass beneath his face.

"Are we still weird?" Rin asked with a giggle

"Yes," Yagura answered bluntly as he rose from where he laid face down in the dirt, taking in the view presented to him. "What was the point of this? Hide and seek? Kind of childish for a kunochi don't you think?"

"Perhaps," Rin agreed as she stood and stretched, studying her surroundings carefully. "But Sakura-chan is two... and this is her newest favorite place." Rin's face split into a wide grin, her brown eyes taking on a mischievous glint. "To bad for her, this is my old training grounds. She won't be able to hide from me for long."

"Just where are we?" Yagura asked curiously, Rin jumped at the sound of his voice, did that mean she forgot that he was still with her?

"Oh yeah," Rin giggled as she turned to look back at him.

_Yes she did forget about me,_ Yagura stared dully at the nervously chuckling girl a few passes away from him.

"Uh, listen, don't bother trying to find me." Rin said as she started to walk away from Yagura. "I don't want to be found. Besides, it won't be long before she and I finally become one."

"What do you mean?" Yagura asked as he hurried after the girl. "The Sanbi is acting like a worried mother hen because of you."

"Really?" Rin asked before the shorter boy could continue. "Why is he acting like that?"

"Because you're his first host!" Yagura snapped out annoyed with the girl. "You're everything he loves about the human race!"

"Oh and what about you?" Rin asked, her eyes lidded as she continued walking, ignoring the birds above them and the steadily increasing amount of foliage. "Surely there must be something that he likes about you?"

"The only thing I can think of is my newest position." Yagura answered, glaring at the grass beneath him. "But that won't last, not with that last attach. When I wake up I'll no longer be the Mizukage—if I wake up at all."

"Mizukage?!" Rin asked loudly as she snapped around, her doe brown eyes wide. "You're shorter then me and like twelve!"

"I'm twenty!" Yagura snapped, his face red as he glared (up) at the brunet. "And I worked hard for that position!"

"I'll say," Rin giggled returning to her search with a smile. "To become the second youngest Kage in history... you must be something else."

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"_Of course I do," Jiraya answered with a frown. "But only if I know where the general location of one is." Jiraya continued to stare at the child before he shifted his black eyes to settle onto Kakashi's lone eye. "I may not have an answer for why you felt the Sanbi's chakra when you found her... but can you please tell me why she's watching me like a hawk?"_

"_Because she knows a pervert when she sees one," Tsunade grumbled softly, making sure the child couldn't here her._

"_That might because of _how_ I found her..." Kakashi mumbled, shifting his hold again. "Those kidnappers sure didn't want to give her up. There were a total of two others with pink hair too, the only ones in the hundreds that we found. They were separated from everyone else like priceless jewels and guarded like the Daimyo's daughters."_

"_Some people are disgusting," Jiraya sighed, choosing to lean back against the furthest wall from the child; hopefully she'll turn her attention to someone else. "What happened to the other two?"_

"_They're waiting to get sent back to their own villages," Kakashi sighed as he shifted his hold again, his arms becoming numb to the child's weight. "The oldest was ten and from the hidden snow village and the other one eight and from a minor civilian village in the land of rice patties, Sakura-chan is almost three and from our village."_

"_How far out did these kidnappers go?" Hiruzen asked softly. "Was it some kind of slave ring?" Kakashi nodded in agreement, the Hokage's guess was as good as his; he only knew that the operation was sophisticated and advanced—it wasn't the work of mere thugs like he originally thought._

"_If she's three then she shouldn't remember this when she's older," Tsunade sighed. "Most people don't remember anything from five and younger. She should forget soon enough."_

"_I hope so," Kakashi sighed again moving to place the child at his feet, the girl immanently hid behind him. The only thing they could see was the girl's snowy white kimono edged with golden butterflies and silver flowers, a green obi was tied around her waist and the girl's snow colored coat hung off her elbows and trailed after her. She looked like a little Hime in training and the sight made the three older war veterans grit their teeth; glade that she wouldn't be sold but angry that they weren't there to beat the stuffing out of her kidnappers._

"_Sakura-chan can you tell me what happened before the bad men got you?" Hiruzen asked as he tried to make himself seem friendly to the child, he didn't like talking like a child but it helped with calmly children and gaining their trust. The pink haired girl looked at him for a moment before she looked up at Kakashi uncertainly, Kakashi smiled and patted her head and pushed her gently towards Hiruzen slightly._

"_I was ex-pla-ting da' forest," Sakura said softly stepping out from behind the man just enough to face Hiruzen somewhat properly. "I was finding da' fairies."_

"_Fairies?" Hiruzen asked amused, his brown eyes sparkling. "Why were you searching for fairies?"_

"_Be-canse..." Sakura hesitated, looking up at Kakashi for reassurance. He nodded and she continued slowly and hesitantly, as if she was afraid to be reprimanded. "Be-canse someone saved a fairy..." Sakura hesitated started to retreat behind Kakashi again, "and gwetting a wish in retan."_

_Okay, so she was by the forest looking for fairies because she heard that someone had freed one and got a wish in return. Hiruzen really hoped that was what she was trying to say._

"_You went to a forest to save a fairy?" Hiruzen asked with a not so pleased look, Sakura sighed and nodded, hiding further behind Kakashi. "What forest did you go to?"_

"_...da east hill..." Sakura answered softly, not noticing how pale it made Kakashi and Hiruzen. The east hill was closest to the Anbu barracks so it wasn't patrolled like the others; it was also mostly deserted and closest to the east gate. It would have been easy for someone to take her without anyone knowing._

"_Tell them what happened next Sakura-chan," Kakashi said when the pinkette looked up at him again._

"_It got weally dark weally fast..." Sakura mumbled softly. "I don't remember wha happen after dat, but the ext day I wake up with da bad men and others. A man said dat they were glade I wake up."_

"_I see..." Hiruzen sighed and kneeled on the ground, his eyes closing as he thought. They had sworn that the girl had been taken in the middle of the village, that a man had distracted the mother while another knocked out Sakura and replaced her with an earthen clone. Guess that means that they used a genjutsu on the mother and girl, weaving different ones at the same time. Did that mean they took her sooner then they thought? Just how long did they have her?_

"_Sakura-chan, can you tell me some thing?" the little girl nodded slowly, not to sure if she should or could. "How long were you with the bad men?"_

_She had been missing for a day and a half before they realized she had been taken and then another day passed before they found the most likely possibility for her disappearance and another two days before they found her trail and then it took another day and a half to execute a rescue. In total, she should have been with them for about five and half days._

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**Tell me you're thoughts!**

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**Page 8**


	6. Chapter 6

**There is a reason**

Chapter 6: seals, personalities and Bijuu's

Koomahana

**Okay... sorry but i removed a couple of things to make this chapter a little less confusing :)**

**Disclaimer: Naruto is not mine; you want the real stuff get off this site**

_Thoughts_

_Paragraphs are memories_

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><p>…<p>

Recap

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><p>…<p>

"_...da east hill..." Sakura answered softly, not noticing how pale it made Kakashi and Hiruzen. The east hill was closest to the Anbu barracks so it wasn't patrolled like the others; it was also mostly deserted and closest to the east gate. It would have been easy for someone to take her without anyone knowing._

"_Tell them what happened next Sakura-chan," Kakashi said when the pinkette looked up at him again._

"_It got weally dark weally fast..." Sakura mumbled softly. "I don't remember wha happen after dat, but the ext day I wake up with da bad men and a few others. A man said dat they were glade I was wake."_

"_I see..." Hiruzen sighed kneeled on the ground, his eyes closing as he thought. They had sworn that the girl had been taken in the middle of the village, that a man had distracted the mother while another knocked out Sakura and replaced her with an earthen clone. Guess that means that they used a genjutsu on the mother and girl, weaving different ones at the same time. Did that mean they took her sooner then they thought? Just how long did they have her?_

"_Sakura-chan, can you tell me some thing?" the little girl nodded slowly, not to sure if she should or could. "How long were you with the bad men?"_

_She had been missing for a day and a half before they realized she had been taken and then another day passed before they found the most likely possibility for her disappearance and another two days before they found her trail and then it took another day and a half to execute a rescue. In total, she should have been with them for about five and half days._

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"_Ten days," Sakura answered softly, tilting her head to the side. Hiruzen stiffened, his eyes widening and his mouth opening and closing like a gaping fish. Ten days? They had her missing at five! Nearly six! No wonder it was so difficult to find her trail, the Inuzuka clan was usually so much faster at picking up scents—their delay was what had concerned Hiruzen so much. The Inuzuka clan specialized in tracking, he feared that the girl's kidnappers had set up false trails and tried to clear up her sent with something else. It was why they sent so many higher ranked shinobi after the girl, they didn't know if she was the only one taken._

_Turns out, she wasn't the only one and they had busted a human-trafficking ring in the process._

"_Ten days?" Hiruzen repeated slowly, Sakura nodded slowly. "Are you sure?" the girl pouted at him, a look that was suited to a frowning old man then a pouting child. Slowly she pulled up her white kimono sleeve, revealing to the room her bandaged right arm, five little crimson lines seeping through the bandage._

"_I kewpt tack," Sakura said softly, staring at the bandages on her arm. Tsunade marched over and kneeled next to the child, noticing how the girl tried to hide behind Kakashi the moment she realized that Tsunade was making way towards her._

"_It's alright little one," Tsunade murmured, instantly slipping into medic mode. "I won't hurt you, promise." The little girl peeked out from behind Kakashi's leg, her eyes narrowed into a glare._

"_Who you?" Sakura asked with eyes full of suspicion and fear_

"_My name is Tsunade Senju and I'm—"_

"_A Hero!" Sakura shouted her eyes wide and sparkling as she pointed at the blonde who was in shock at the pinkette's out burst. Sakura giggled and latched her arms around Tsunade's neck, not noticing the blonde's dumbfounded reaction._

"_Mommy says you saived mes wong time ago." Sakura pulled back and smiled at the blonde brightly. "Thank you for saiving me!" Tsunade stared wide eyed at Sakura; speechless the blonde didn't move or say anything for several long minuets. Only when Sakura winced when her sleeve caught on Tsunade's necklace and tugged against her sore arm, did Tsunade shake out of her disbelief._

"_Here, let me tend to that." Tsunade murmured, unhooking the leave from her pendent and handling the child's arm gently. Before Sakura could pull away, Tsunade had tugged the sleave up and was undoing the bandages. When the last slip of white cloth fell from Sakura's forearm, Tsunade couldn't help but gasp at the sight revealed to her. Ten almost perfectly straight lines marred Sakura's milky white arm, each one in a different stage of healing. With narrowed eyes, Tsunade slowly rose her free hand and placed it over the wound, letting her chakra flare and cover the wound. Within seconds the tiny red marks were gone, not a scar left behind._

"_Kakashi-kun, since Tsunade-Hime just gave Sakura-chan a physical," Hiruzen smiled for the pinkette's sake, trying to ignore the fury burning deep in his stomach. "Could you take Sakura-chan home before you head back out please?"_

"_May I ask where I'm going now?" Kakashi asked as he lifted Sakura back up into his arms_

"_Back from where you just came," Hiruzen answered, his dark eyes locked onto Sakura as she made herself comfortable and laid her head against Kakashi's shoulder. "Make sure to bring back all of our girls."_

"_Yes sire,"_

"_When do we leave?" Tsunade asked softly, rising from where she kneeled to watch Kakashi rush over the crimson rooftops of her home village. Tsunade could barely make out the child's joyful laughter as the gray haired man raced her home._

"_As soon as you're ready," Hiruzen answered, glade that Tsunade would take one last mission before she left._

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"Well Jiraya-sama what do you think?" The far too old council member of the hidden mist asked from his seat in the room. Jiraya and his two other teammates, Inoichi Yamanaka and Fugaku Uchiha, looked up from the diagram that was being drawn by the blond.

"Why don't you guys give them some time to actually finish drawing the design before you start asking questions?" Tsunade asked from her place beside the Mizukage's hospital bedside, a white haired fifth member of their team standing near the blonde like a protective shadow. "Inoichi literally just came out from the brat's head. Jiraya can't conclude anything until that drawing is complete."

"And how is Yagura-Sensei's vitals?" a young kunochi nearby asked softly, one bright blue eye looking up at Tsunade with as much pleading a kunochi of Mist was permitted to show.

"He's alive," Tsunade replied bluntly, shifting so that it looked like her attention was turned more towards the village elders then the red haired child standing at the foot of the Mizukage's bed. "I can't find anything wrong with him physically; he should have awoken by now. The way I see it, it's physiological damage, but that's not my specialty. That's Inoichi-san's specialty—so ask him." Inoichi sighed as everyone in the room turned to look at him in question.

"The seal is preventing me from going too deeply but the Sanbi is trying to help." Inoichi said softly, he put his pencil down and leaned back in his chair, half-stretching. "Accor—"

"The infamous Sanbi is attempting to help you?" a councilwoman asked doubtfully. "Did he not kill his first host? I thought he hated humans in genera—"

"No," the red haired girl barked out defensively, snapping around and glaring at the older woman. "Yagura-sensei said—"

"Watch your tong young lady," the third and youngest member of the council ordered coldly, his black eyes opening to stare coldly at the redhead. "Do not forget that every word and action you take reflects back on both the Mizukage _and_ this village." The girl flinched and stared at the floor in shame, the five members of the Konoha team pretended not to be listening. Inoichi counted to ten before he continued with what he had to say.

"According to the Sanbi, the seal was made to steadily adjust Mizukage-sama's personality towards more violet outbreaks then what he normally would permit." Inoichi glanced at both Tsunade and Jiraya before he continued. "By doing this, it would allow the Sanbi to take possession of Yagura temporarily. However it would also keep certain aspects of the Sanbi's personality from surfacing as well, making it look as if Mizukage-sama has lost control of the Sanbi and went on a killing spree... or at least a violent spree."

"So why hasn't Yagura-sensei awakened?" The girl asked curiously, her head tilted to the side. Inoichi sighed and rubbed at his temple tiredly, hoping that he could delay answering that one by telling them something else.

"Go ahead," Jiraya said softly, stopping Inoichi from distracting the curious question. Inoichi looked up at Jiraya unsurely, making the older man shuffle the papers on the table between them before he continued softly. "They'll find out eventually, if you hold anything back they'll most likely hold it against Konoha."

"The Sanbi sent him away," Inoichi answered, turning to face the rest of the occupants in the room with a serious expression.

"I don't understand," the older then dust council member mumbled.

"According to the Sanbi, he isn't whole. Some of his power died with Rin-chan, the Sanbi has been a two tailed demon since her death." Inoichi began, shifting uncomfortably. The complete and utter silence echoing in the room didn't sit well with him; it made him more nervous then when his two year old daughter would try to escape the house so she could 'explore' the 'outside world'. "The Sanbi did this so that Rin-chan could have a second chance at life. He literally bound himself to her for all of eternity."

"What does that mean?" Tsunade asked, leaning against the wall beside the knocked out Mizukage. "What are you trying to say? That Rin got reincarnated?"

"Yes," Inoichi answered, bobbing his head in agreement. "The Sanbi seems pretty adamant that Rin-chan has been reborn and that only Yagura can find her. Well technically only the Sanbi could find her, but because the Sanbi is sealed into Yagura..." Inoichi trailed off as everyone gave an understanding sigh.

"Are you saying that..." Tsunade shifted uncomfortably, her voice soft like a whisper. "Are you saying that Rin has been reborn and is aware of everything?"

"I doubt she's aware," Inoichi answered. "The Sanbi said that she was reborn but he didn't know where. He just knows that she was born in May two years ago."

"What does this have to do with Yagura-sama's condition?" The councilwoman asked with a snap of her old voice.

"Sorry Mrs." Inoichi chuckled at her, scratching the back of his head nervously. "The Sanbi informed me that he threw the Mizukage at Rin-chan. Even after death the Sanbi and Rin-chan are still connected, so he just threw Mizukage-sama into her mindscape."

"So..." the red headed girl's voice sounded, draying everyone's attention back to her. "You're saying that Yagura-sensei is with this Rin-girl?"

"Yes," Inoichi agreed with a gentile smile towards the girl

"So then, when is he going to come back?" the girl asked with a frown. "Sensei can't stay away from his body for long can he? It wouldn't be good for his body, right? So then, how are we going to get Yagura-sensei back?" Inoichi blinked at the red and groaned, his head thumping into the palm of his hand.

"We seriously need to get this seal off of the Mizukage," Inoichi groaned out to his teammates. "If we don't, then he might die."

"How do you figure?" Tsunade asked with narrowed eyes, as if she'd let one of her patients die on her.

"The way I see it, the Sanbi did a forced and highly advanced version of my families' jutsu." Inoichi answered turning back to the seal he was trying to draw out for Jiraya and the two Sharingan wielders. "In my family if we don't cancel the jutsu in time we can run out of chakra and one of two things happens to us. One is that we return to our body but can't move for a few days or weeks, in other words our body has to get back in the habit of moving. The second option is that our body becomes to far away from our soul, which means that instead of our soul going back to our body it goes to the afterlife. We essentially die because we got too far away from our bodies."

"So your saying that because the Sanbi threw his current host at his previous host, and that we don't know who or where that one is, he might die because he didn't get back to his body in time?" the girl asked, her eyes wide as she stared at Inoichi, her face oddly pale.

"Yes," Inoichi agreed, impressed that the girl gasped that so quickly.

"We do have some luck on our side." Tsunade spook up before any of the council members could bust a blood vassal in their head. "The Mizukage has a boat load of chakra to work with, not to mention that _it_ _was_ the Sanbi who forced him out of his body to begin with."

"You're right Tsunade-Hime! I can't belief I didn't think of it!" Inoichi cheered the second he understood what the older woman was trying to explain. "All we need is for you to keep him in the best of health, and then we just might be able to come out of this mission with success!"

"You two lost me," Fugaku commented, glancing between the two exited blonds on either side of him.

"Really?" Jiraya asked amazed at the confession from the clan head. "The Sanbi is the one who's controlling the Yamanaka-nock-off-jutsu that he placed on the Mizukage. The Bijuu are made up of endless amounts of chakra."

"In other words Fugaku," Tsunade smirked at the clan head, amusement dancing in her eyes. "So long as we keep his body alive and stable, the Mizukage shouldn't be in too much trouble."

"Which means we'll be able to figure out this seal _properly_," Jiraya agreed with a nod of his head. "Then we can lift it without much damage to him and we can then return to the village, hopefully, in peace."

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><p>…<p>

**Okay so I totally found something trippy!**

**Nohara-****Rahano (switch 'ra' and 'ha') **** Harano (replace 'ra' with 'ru') **** Haruno**

**Trippy right?**

**Oh yeah, some fan art would be lovely **

**Tell me you're thoughts!**

**Rate and review please!**

**On a scale of 1 to 5!**** (1= negative and 5 = positive )**

**Page 7**


	7. Chapter 7

**There is a reason**

Chapter 7: Teaching

Koomahana

**Disclaimer: Naruto is not mine; you want the real stuff get off this site**

_Thoughts_

_Paragraphs are memories_

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Recap

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"Yes," Inoichi agreed, impressed that the girl gasped that so quickly.

"We do have some luck on our side." Tsunade spook up before any of the council members could bust a blood vassal in their head. "The Mizukage has a boat load of chakra to work with, not to mention that it was the Sanbi who forced him out of his body to begin with."

"You're right Tsunade-Hime! I can't belief I didn't think of it!" Inoichi cheered the second he understood what the older woman was trying to explain. "All we need is for you to keep him in the best of health, and then we just might be able to come out of this mission with success!"

"You two lost me," Fugaku commented, glancing between the two exited blonds on either side of him.

"Really?" Jiraya asked amazed at the confession from the clan head. "The Sanbi is the one who's controlling the Yamanaka-nock-off-jutsu that he placed on the Mizukage. The Bijuu are made up of endless amounts of chakra."

"In other words Fugaku," Tsunade smirked at the clan head, amusement dancing in her eyes. "So long as we keep his body alive and stable, the Mizukage shouldn't be in too much trouble."

"Which means we'll be able to figure out this seal _properly_," Jiraya agreed with a nod of his head. "Then we can lift it without much damage to him and we can then return to Konoha, hopefully, in peace."

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End Recap

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He was walking calmly through the forest, it was showing up more and more often in the child's mindscape and he was sorely tempted to mess with it. The lack of large water reserves was seriously starting to aggravate him, then again, he was used to snow and mist surrounding him and drenching him to the bone.

_I can't even practice my jutsu,_ Yagura sighed as he kicked at a rubble, noting how his foot went straight through it. It seemed like the only thing that was solid in the mindscape, other then the ground he walked on, was the trees and bushes. Most likely because the girl could see them and knew that they should have a physical weight and density to them—a tiny, unnoticeable pebble was another matter entirely.

"Hi," a soft voice sounded, he would have dismissed it if it weren't for the fact that Rin was playing by the tiny lake that they couldn't even walk on or go anywhere near because it was an endless walk to the lake.

"Hewo" okay now he was curious. Looking and studying the pathway curiously, he looked for any abnormalities; it wasn't hard to spot the splash of bright yellow poking out from behind a nearby bush.

"Hello," Yagura replied slowly, making sure to pronounce the word for the hidden child correctly. "Who are you?"

"S-Sakuwa" she answered softly, as if she wasn't sure if she should say anything. "Who you?"

"I'm Yagura, did you mean that your name is 'Sakura'?" the girl nodded softly, taking a step out from behind the bush hesitantly. Yagura took the time to actually study the child who housed Rin and temporally himself. The girl was small like most two year olds were, but she was also unnaturally pale, making Yagura doubt the girl's health. Her unnaturally long golden hair hid her eyes, revealing only a partial sapphire eye to Yagura's curious gaze. Her hair was so long that it threatened to consume her entire body within it's sunshine strands—for the exception of her tiny feet.

"That's strange," Yagura murmured as he stepped forward and crouched before the shy girl curiously. "I could have sworn that your hair was a different color, did you change it?" Slowly the girl shook her head, but her eyes dropped to the ground and her tiny snubs she called fingers twisted nervously together.

"Sakura-san do you know what lieing is?" Yagura asked as he dipped his head so he could try to see he child's face behind her long curtain of hair. Again the tiny child shook her head, making her long golden bangs move just enough to reveal a single sapphire orb. "Lieing means to speak words that aren't true, to twist facts to fit one's own gain—and it is very bad."

"Why?" Sakura asked, tilting her head to the side curiously. Yagura sighed and sat on the ground, he knew a curious child when he met one; more likely then not, he'd be here for a while trying to teach the child something vital.

"Because a lie could hurt the people you care for most," Yagura watched as the girl's visible eye widened. "A lie can destroy relationships, destroy families and make friends disband. A lie can even tear whole nations apart—a lie can only destroy, it can not build anything good nor lasting in this world."

"Whas'a re-lake-en-ship?" Yagura sighed, yes, the girl was indeed two, but her speech was horrendous. Was that normal?

"Okay what have you learned to say correctly?" Yagura asked, fighting to rub at his brow in irritation.

"Lear-rand?"

_This is going to take a while..._Yagura couldn't stop his sigh from escaping him. "Learning is something people do to better them self's. It's how to acquire knowledge or understanding. It's how people become informed or to discover. Learning is to memorize information to pass on to the future, so that others may learn and others may understand."

"Learn-ing," Sakura said lowly, pronouncing the word carefully. "Is a good thing?"

"Yes," Yagura agreed with a small smile.

"Can you... tean-ch me?" Yagura smiled at the child, half tempted to rise from his comfortable placement. The only other child he taught had wanted to lean how to fight, so that she could protect her most precious people.

"What do you want to learn?"

"Ever-en-thing,"

Yagura chuckled, "Everything?"

"Yes," Sakura shifted, immanently catching the difference in the word. "Ever-thing—" knowing that she still got it wrong, Sakura tried repeatedly until she got it right. "Ever-ei-thing—every-thing—everything—everything!"

"Alright," Yagura chuckled, patting the tiny blonde's head encouragingly. "But I can't do all the work. You have to meet me half way, okay?"

"Okay?" Sakura agreed, but her tilted head and tone of voice said that she didn't understand his fraze.

"What I mean by half way is that _you_ have to work at learning new things too." Yagura explained smiling gently at the girl as he tucked his feet beneath him, ready to start the first lesson. "And that means reading lots of books whenever you can."

"Re-ding?" Yagura was tempted to sigh again; yes his work was surely cut out for him.

"Let me teach you how to read," Yagura said as he straighten and drew out a kunai to draw in the dirt.

"Don't forget writing," chuckled another voice from behind. Yagura jumped and turned to see an amused Rin approaching with two sticks in hand. "In order to read, she must also learn how to write."

"I was thinking of baby steps," Yagura replied as he returned his kunai back to his holster and held a hand out expectantly to Rin.

"I'm not a baby!" Sakura shouted in Yagura's ear, both surprising and shocking the young man.

"That's right," Rin said, laughter dancing in her chocolate orbs, Yagura swore she was silently mocking him. "Sakura-chan is two, isn't she?"

"Uh-huh," Sakura bobbed her head up and down, as if she was proud of this fact.

"And since you're such a big girl, why don't you tell me something?" Yagura could tell a scolding was coming just by Rin's tone of voice. "Why are you hiding what you really look like?" Surprised, Yagura glanced down at Sakura. He had his suspicions that she had lied to him earlier, but he couldn't be sure. The girl was shy and he had barely caught a glance at her when he first awakened here in this girl's strange mind. It was silent for all of thirty seconds before Rin gave in, a look of understanding smoothing her face over like a slightly disappointed older sister.

"Alright I think I understand," Rin sighed

"I don't," Yagura replied, wanting to get filled in.

"Let's start on your first lesson," Rin said, squatting between Sakura and Yagura and completely ignoring the later. Yagura sighed as Rin started teaching Sakura how to write her name first, he sat back and watched as Sakura practiced in the dirt, refusing to move on until her name looked as good in the dirt as Rin's writing of her name did.

"Sakura," Yagura called after what seemed like an endless day had passed. Huffing in irritation, the tiny blonde looked up at him with a pout that was properly meant to be a glare. "It's getting late; shouldn't you rest for a bit?"

"No," Sakura answered as she went back to her writing, her delicate hand trembling ever so slightly.

"Why don't you try your other hand?" Yagura suggested as he picked up Rin's discarded stick and wrote the blonde's name in the ground, using his left hand to do so. Sakura looked back and forth between Rin's, Yagura's and her own writings of her name and let out a long-suffering sigh.

"Can you teach me?" Sakura asked as she looked up at him shyly.

"First off, hold your stick like so," Yagura answered as he gently adjusted Sakura's hold on her stick. "and gently move it against the ground like this," Yagura gently moved Sakura's hand, making the stick she was holding draw out thin, steady lines that slowly revealed her name. "Now try on your own." Yagura ordered, stepping away from the shy blonde. Nervously the too small two year old re-write her name, again, in the dirt. It wasn't long before she looked up at Yagura smiling, her blond hair bounced up as she spun and tackled Yagura, laughing as she did so.

"I did it!" Sakura shouted in joy, "I did it! I did it Yaguwa-nii! I wote my name!" Yagura smiled as he patted the girl's head in encouragement.

"Go tell Rin-san," Yagura suggested, pointing over to the lightly dozing brunet leaning against a nearby tree.

"Okay!" Sakura cheered as she ran full tilt towards the brunet. Yagura turned from the girls and examined Sakura's newly perfected word on the ground, it took him a minute to realize that the near perfect replica of his own writing was made by Sakura. Glancing back at the giggling and excited girls, Yagura studied them before he crouched and examined Sakura's writing a little more closely. Her lines weren't as deep as his were and they were a little more shaky looking, but otherwise the two versions were the same.

_Has she always learned so fast?_ Yagura thought as he glanced back at Rin, noting how tired she truly looked. _Rin said that it wouldn't be long until the two were one and the same, how much time is left for her?_

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><p>…<p>

**Tell me you're thoughts!**

**Rate and review please!**

**On a scale of 1 to 5!**

**Page 5**


	8. Chapter 8

**There is a reason**

Chapter 8: Finding out the secret

Koomahana

**Disclaimer: Naruto is not mine; you want the real stuff get off this site**

_Thoughts_

_Paragraphs are memories_

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><p>…<p>

Recap

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><p>…<p>

"Can you teach me?" Sakura asked as she looked up at him shyly.

"First off, hold your stick like so," Yagura answered as he gently adjusted Sakura's hold on her stick. "and gently move it against the ground like this," Yagura gently moved Sakura's hand, making the stick she was holding draw out thin, steady lines that slowly revealed her name. "Now try on your own." Yagura ordered, stepping away from the shy blonde. Nervously the too small two year old re-write her name, again, in the dirt. It wasn't long before she looked up at Yagura smiling, her blond hair bounced up as she spun and tackled Yagura, laughing as she did so.

"I did it!" Sakura shouted in joy, "I did it! I did it Yaguwa! I wrote my name!" Yagura smiled as he patted the girl's head in encouragement.

"Go tell Rin-san," Yagura suggested, pointing over to the lightly dozing brunet leaning against a nearby tree.

"Okay!" Sakura cheered as she ran full tilt towards the brunet. Yagura turned from the girls and examined Sakura's newly perfected word on the ground, it took him a minute to realize that the near perfect replica of his own writing was made by Sakura. Glancing back at the giggling and excited girls, Yagura studied them before he crouched and examined Sakura's writing a little more closely. Her lines weren't as deep his were and they were a little more shaky looking, but otherwise the two versions were the same.

_Has she always learned so fast?_ Yagura thought as he glanced back at Rin, noting how tired she truly looked. _Rin said that it wouldn't be long until the two were one and the same, how much time is left for her?_

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End Recap

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"Sakura dear are—" Sakura jumped at the sound of her mother's voice, she snapped around and stared guiltedly up at her mother. Mebuki blinked curiously down at her only child, her child who was more prone to playing silently with a stuffed rabbet in her corner or to draw on the floor then to be caught reading at her table. Sakura shifted uncomfortably under her mother's curious gaze, typically her mother would knock before she entered her room, but it appeared that Mebuki had decided not to do that this time. so instead of quickly covering the book she was trying to read with her teddy bear or with a few papers that she would pretend to be drawing on, Sakura sat frozen in her little plastic clear staring up at her mother and hoping that she wouldn't notice the small book in her hands.

"Sakura dear are you reading?" Mebuki asked as she stepped forward into her daughter's room, yes she was happy to have her only child back, but she hadn't taught the tiny child how to read yet.

"Trying," Sakura sighed, knowing that she was caught there wasn't anything she could do about it.

"Did one of..." Mebuki hesitated, she knew Sakura didn't like to talk about what had happened a few months before, and Mebuki liked it even less, but she knew that she hadn't taught Sakura how to read yet. "Did one of those... girls, teach you?" Mebuki asked as she settled herself down beside her only child, noting in amazement that the book in her daughter's hand happened to be a dictionary.

"A... girl... taught me... some," Sakura answered slowly, her head tilted to one side almost curiously. Mebuki sighed and nodded softly, fighting off the tears that wanted to fall from her emerald eyes. One of the other kidnapped girls had taught Sakura how to read, Mebuki was thank full for it, but she was mostly horrified that she wasn't there to teach Sakura herself.

"Mommy?" Sakura questioned softly, her voice pulled Mebuki from her thoughts and the blonde smiled gently at her child.

_Yes it was hell back then_, Mebuki thought as she patted her daughter's head gently, her fingers sliding through Sakura's long locks. "Let's go get some lunch, okay?"

"Okay," Sakura smiled and hopped from her seat, fast walking to the door and snatching up her white and red rabbet while she was it.

_It'll never happen again,_ Mebuki thought as she rose and fallowed after her child. _Yes, Sakura is 'unique' looking, but she also has a unique mind._ Mebuki glanced back at her daughter's plastic table, her eyes narrowing in on the still opened dictionary. Sakura had been missing for two weeks before she was brought back and it had been two weeks since the incident.

Mebuki wasn't stupid, Sakura didn't start reading until recently. If she learned from one of the kidnapped girls, then she would have told Mebuki about it when she returned. Mebuki could agree that it was 'a girl' who had taught Sakura the beginning steps of reading, but she didn't agree that it was one of the kidnapped girls. No, someone else was getting involved in Sakura's life and they were starting to take over Mebuki's job. That wasn't something she could forgive easily. Watching amusedly as Sakura climbed down the stairs to get to the kitchen, Mebuki smiled as Sakura's bright locks shown brightly in the sunlight.

Yes, her daughter had pink hair and green eyes. Yes, her daughter would be considered 'Unique'. Yes, people would take one look at her and deem her too week to be anything more then a civilian. That was precisely why Mebuki was determined to teach Sakura how to fight; she was just waiting until Sakura was older. Her daughter was two for crying out loud, it was too soon to teach Sakura anything that wasn't related to reading and writing; for the moment at least.

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Yagura was just starting to get used to the strange mindscape he was thrust into, the best part about it was that time was not and silence rained over everything.

"Nii-tan! Nii-tan guess what!" and then the brat would arrive wrecking the peace that had been built up in her absence, Yagura still wasn't sure how she managed to bounce back and forth between reality and her mind but she did it whenever she seemed to deem it fit too.

"Nii-tan!" Sakura shouted as she jumped and landed onto Yagura's stomach laughing.

"Sakura how many times do I have to tell you not to do that?" Yagura asked in irritation as he lifted the newly brunet from his lap. Every day the girl appeared with a new hair and eye color, today Sakura was a brunet with big doe brown eyes, looking almost identical to Rin, if not for her wild brown locks that were still horrendously long. Didn't the girl know what a haircut was?

"Mommy got me a new book!" Sakura ignored his question easily, her eyes shinning brightly. "And daddy got me a new hair tie!"

"Oh?" Yagura asked as he sat up and placed Sakura at his side. Yes, he was starting to get used to this strange painless world; a world that only an innocent two year old could experience.

"Why don't you tie your hair up?" Yagura asked with a raised eyebrow, Sakura giggled at him as if he just said a very funny joke.

"Because the hair tie is with daddy!" Sakura answered, her eyes glowing brightly.

"Oh? Well too bad," Yagura replied, completely unaffected by her unintentional jab. "Your mother got you a new book?" Sakura nodded her head eagerly in answer, "What's it about?"

"I don't know yet," Sakura answered, her shoulders drooping slightly. "I saw mommy wrapping it up for me. I get to open it up on my birthday."

"When's that?" Yagura asked, he knew that he was here for a while, but a year couldn't have passed already could it? How much time has he been away from his body? Could he even go back now?

"Tomorrow," Sakura answered, looking confused at Yagura. "Don't you know?"

"'Didn't' you know," Yagura corrected automatically. "How long have I been with you?"

"Five months," Sakura answered as if she didn't like the question.

"And of that amount of time, how much of it have you spent working on your speech and grammar?" Yagura asked, concealing his rising panic.

"Four and a half months," Sakura answered, her shoulders slumping and her eyes lowering.

"Then why are you still making those simple mistakes?"

"...Sorry," Sakura answered softly, her hair sliding forward to hide her face from him.

"Sorry isn't going to cut it," Yagura replied rising to his feet turning away from the child. "You need to learn to speak properly and correctly. If you don't bad people will do bad things to you and you won't be able to stop them or make them pay."

"Bad people?" Sakura repeated softly, clearly distressed about that bit of information. "So those men took me away because I couldn't read or write?" Sakura questioned, surprising Yagura. "Those people took me away from mommy and daddy because I couldn't read and write?" Yagura didn't have an answer for that and he didn't trust himself enough to look back at the girl he had been halfway teaching.

"Nii-tan... do you know what those bad men wanted from me?"

"I don't know what they wanted with you," Yagura answered. _Now I understand what happened when I was with the Sanbi. He was witnessing her being kidnapped... now it'll be even harder to find her._

"If I learn lots of words and learn lots of things, would they still come back for me?" Sakura questioned, panic lacing her words.

"That'll depend on what you learn," Yagura answered. "What do you mean, 'come back for you'?"

"Mommy's friends found me," Sakura answered relaxing slightly in her seat. "A tall boy saved me from the mean old man..."

"What do you mean?" Yagura questioned, Sakura glanced at him nervously before she drew her finger against the soft grass, creating a rectangle in the lush green blades. The blades of grass all folded together to form a strange mat like thing, and upon their surface an image began to take shape. Yagura turned to see that the shifting colors on the blades of grass slowly turned into the angry face of an old man. His face was red with rage, his eyes were black and wild, he was screaming and spitting... and he was holding a child over the edge of a rope bridge.

Eyes narrowing, Yagura turned completely and crouched before the moving image, transfixed on the scene unfolding before him. The furious old man held another girl with a rope around her neck nearby, a tug on the rope reviled that Sakura must have been wearing one as well because the scene blinked and wavered as if water had gotten onto a camera lens. He was arguing with someone, he wasn't happy about what was going on but strangely, no sound was coming from the man's moving lips. Something must have happened because the man let go of the girl dangling over the edge of the rope bridge and quickly picked up Sakura and the other girl and started running away from the bridge.

The scene shifted into darkness with bright flashes of the other girl kicking and screaming, of a rushing by forest, of being thrust into a dark closet with the other girl and then staring terrified up at masked man.

Yagura knew the mask of an Anbu agent.

There were three kinds of Anbu operatives: the hunter Nin, the border patrol and the village protectors who often took high-risk missions. The hunter Nin's almost never have their village symbol on their blank shapeless mask; the border patrol often had animal shaped masks with paint as a highlight on their masks. It was only the mission Anbu operatives that got the mask that was some kind mix between the two; the mask was blank-shaped but it's paint job was both beautiful and creepy—Depending weather or not that mask was after you in a good or bad way—often looking like some kind of animal. Either way, Sakura's savor didn't have a village insignia on his mask but it did have a lot of paint on it. That meant that the Anbu who rescued her and the other girl was of the third kind of Anbu, the one that often went out on high class and extremely dangerous missions that more often then not couldn't be traced back to the village.

"So I take it your back with your parent's now," Yagura stated more then asked, he recalled the girl talking about her parents. She must have gotten home fast; her parents were most likely well connected.

"Yes," Sakura agreed softly. "Which is why I'm scared that he might come back for me."

"Why? Didn't your savor get them all?"

"No," Sakura answered shifting from her place uncomfortably, the pad of braded grass fringing at the edges. "Not everyone was there. Fu-chan said that they took her away from the base when they went out to 'collect' more girls. She said that the ring leader didn't trust all of his men, so she always left the base when they went out 'hunting'."

"But you never made it to the base," Yagura summed up, making Sakura nod with a small smile. "That means that those men don't know about you. With luck they won't try again for you."

"I hope so," Sakura sighed, relaxing as the grass pad fell apart. "I don't ever want to meet those mean men again."

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**Should I up date sooner then Normal?**

**I think I will! :)**

**Marry Christmas! XD**

**Tell me you're thoughts!**

**Rate and review please!**

**On a scale of 1 to 5!**

**Page 6**


	9. Chapter 9

**There is a reason**

Chapter 9: figuring out the seal and nightmares

Koomahana

**I'm so sorry, accsadently posted ten as Nine and then reposed ten!**

**Here's the real chapter nin :)**

**Again, I'm so sorry, I'll give you an extra chapter at the end of the day for you :)**

**Disclaimer: Naruto is not mine; you want the real stuff get off this site**

_Thoughts_

_Paragraphs are memories_

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><p>…<p>

Recap

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"So I take it your back with your parent's now," Yagura stated more then asked, he recalled the girl talking about her parents. She must have gotten home fast; her parents were most likely well connected.

"Yes," Sakura agreed softly. "Which is why I'm scared that he might come back for me."

"Why? Didn't your savor get them all?"

"No," Sakura answered shifting from her place uncomfortably, the pad of braded grass fringing at the edges. "Not everyone was there. Ki-chan said that they took her away from the base when they went out to 'collect' more girls. She said that the ring leader didn't trust all of his men, so she always left the base when they went out 'hunting'."

"But you never made it to the base," Yagura summed up, making Sakura nod with a small smile. "That means that those men don't know about you. With luck they won't try again for you."

"I hope so," Sakura sighed, relaxing as the grass pad fell apart. "I don't ever want to meet those mean men again."

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"How's it going?" Tsunade questioned as she walked into the Mizukage's room with both his and her own appetencies' behind her. Jiraya, Inoichi and Fugaku were huddled up in the corner surrounding a table and whispering together almost excitedly.

"Did any of you three idiots sleep?" Tsunade asked, knowing that the three men most likely hadn't. she shirk her head as they continued to ignore her, fussing over the seal that Inoichi had been able to recreate perfectly three days ago. Tsunade sighed and continued on to the young Mizukage's side. She lifted the blankets over him and went about her job moving the young man's limbs so the blood would flow correctly and not create any problems for when he reawakened.

"When will Sensei awaken?" Yuriko asked softly, Yuriko had been Yagura's student since she was ten and was currently the only living member of her team; Yagura was in a coma and her two other teammates were dead.

"Most likely soon," Tsunade answered softly. "My teammates have been working like crazy for the past three days; they should come up with a solution soon."

"Before or after they pass out?" Shizune asked as she lifted a leg and rubbed the blood down the limb. Before Tsunade could reply, a loud crash sounded behind her, making her spin around with a glowing kunai held up at the ready. Much to Tsunade's embarrassment, the three men had merely passed out in a heap around the table, knocking down their cups of water and other various items.

"After," Yuriko giggled, her bright blue eyes lighting up in amusement before they dulled again and she returned to her task of moving the blood flow in her teacher's arm. "I hope he wakes up soon..."

"How's the council handling his coma?" Tsunade asked as she returned to her work, ignoring her passed out teammates.

"Not well," Yuriko answered. "They're thinking about replacing him if he doesn't wake up at the end of the year."

"Well... we'll just... have to..." Everyone turned to see Jiraya laying upside down on the floor, one leg propped up on his chair. "Wake him up... by the... end of the-the year..." The three women stared as Jiraya's eyes rolled dizzily in his head before he finally succumbed to unconsciousness.

"I have to move him now don't I?" Tsunade grumbled as she turned towards her teammates and approached Jiraya first. "Up-a-daisy!" Tsunade grunted as she grabbed Jiraya and threw one of his arms over her shoulder. "Shizune, Yukiko will you two help Fugaku and Inoichi to their feet please?"

"Yes Ma'am," the two teens murmured together, walking around the Mizukage's bed and approached the two men in question. Tsunade chuckled as the girls huffed and puffed for a few minuets before they gave up and called for a few guards to help them.

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"Happy birthday to you~! Happy birthday to you~!" Sakura giggled excitedly as her parents sang, her mother walking forward slowly with a white cake alight with two green and blue candles. "Happy birthday Sa~ku~ra~! Happy birthday to you!"

"Thank you!" Sakura shouted as she wrapped her arms around her father, her mother laughed and set the cake before Sakura, before quickly grabbing a camera and snapping a picture of Sakura and Kizashi hugging before the cake.

"Blow out the candles sweetie," Kizashi cooed to Sakura, the pinkette giggled and took in a deep breath. Just as she let it out on the candles, a loud crack of thunder and lightening sounded out side. Sakura's deep breath turned into a scream and she scrambled away from the table, she ignored her parent's startled calls to her and she quickly climbed into the nearest closet—the hallway closet close to the front door.

…

_Thunder and lightning shook the room, making the walls shiver and the roof shake. The two girls cringed and clutched each other tightly, tears spilling from their eyes. The man jumped from his seat, his black eyes swinging back in forth as if searching for something that shouldn't be there. Snarling the man turned his furious black eyes onto the two girls and roughly picked them both up by their arms. He marched down a small hall to the bathroom and stopped half way down the hall. He threw them both in, ignoring their cries of pain and whimpering._

"_Stay here brats and don't move!" the man slammed the door on them, the older girl hissed and pulled her close._

_The darkness of the small room was suffocating and the older girl's grip was tight but reassuring in the deep black darkness. The darkness never ended, it was deep and ever lasting. It was protecting them from the monsters outside the tiny room but it was also hurting their eyes, blinding them from the outside world._

_It would be hours before anyone would find them and by then they were used to the darkness and felt safe within it. When the door finally opened, a bright blinding light fell upon their eyes, making both girls scream out in pain and hide their faces in each other's shoulders._

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"You called for me Lord Hokage?" Kakashi asked as he stepped into the crimson office, immanently noting the distressed blonde sitting just across from the old man.

"Ah, Inu-kun you finally arrived," Hiruzen said with a slight jab at his content lateness. Kakashi didn't mind, Hiruzen only did it when he was stressed. "Do you remember that mission from five months ago?"

"The kidnapped-slave ring?" Kakashi asked tilting his head curiously; the blonde sitting in the chair jumped up and swiveled to look at him. Her searching, tearful gaze was only slightly disturbing, making Kakashi briefly wonder if the woman could see his face behind his Anbu mask.

"Were you the one who saved my daughter?" the woman asked, her hands twining together in front of her. Ah, now it made sense—she was the mother of the pinkette he saved five months ago. Why was she here?

"Yes," Kakashi answered blandly. _Did something happen to Sakura?_

"Please speak to her!" the blonde shouted, forcing herself into a low bow. "I don't know why but the storm has frightened her. She's hiding in our closet and she won't come out! She went so far as scratching and biting us, as if she doesn't recognize us!" The woman thrust her hands out, still in her deep bow, and showed the scratches and bite marks made by her newly three-year-old daughter.

Kakashi glanced at Hiruzen briefly before he examined the storm just beyond the windows. He had found the two pink haired girls hidden in a half destroyed hut, huddled in a deep and dark closet. When he opened the door, the girls screamed and huddled their faces together as if the little light from the lightning outside was blinding to them. They were horrifyingly pale and dressed in matching white kimono's and bright red coats. It had taken him an hour to calm the both of them down enough to speak and it took another hour for him to gain their trust enough to leave with him.

When he returned to the camp with both girls in hand, they had immanently left his side to join the oldest pinkette, glade that she hadn't died when she was dropped off the cliff. However, that didn't mean he missed how they both flinch with each flash of lightning and boom of thunder. When they settled down for the first night of freedom, the girls slept in a pile together, letting him and a kunochi sleep on either side of them, keeping the youngest pinkette between them protectively. Kakashi had actually found it difficult to sleep when every sound had awakened all three of the girls and forced the oldest to a protective crouch over the younger two.

"She is afraid of the storm?" Kakashi murmured, tilting his head towards the panicky mother.

"Yes," she agreed straightening shakily. "My husband is still with her, trying to calm her down but it's like she can't hear our words."

"That's because she can't" Kakashi answered. "In that kind of state the only one who can get close to her is the girl who was trapped with her—Tayuya of rice patty country."

"Do you know if she's been returned to her village yet?" Hiruzen asked, Kakashi's answer sigh didn't reassure him.

"The girl was an orphan, some of the other captains from the other villages are trying to convince her to return with them." Kakashi answered lowly, not seeming to like the information. "I don't think she's given an answer yet, she wanted to stay with Sakura and Fubuki. She was convinced they were safer together."

"Fubuki?" The woman questioned, her head tilted to the side. "How old is she?"

"Fubuki is ten and Tayuya is eight." Kakashi answered

"They're both old enough to know how to read..." the blonde mumbled thoughtfully, unintentionally making Kakashi snort.

"Fubuki can read, Tayuya can't." Kakashi informed her. "Why is that important?"

"Sakura-chan told me that a girl was teaching her how to read," the woman informed them both. "She didn't elaborate so I thought that it might have been one of the girls she was with from... from that time..."

"It's passable..." Kakashi murmured thoughtfully. "Fubuki was overly protective of both Tayuya and Sakura. She didn't sleep or relax when they were away from her and she barely slept when they were with her."

"We don't have time to go all the way to the border of ogres to find her," Hiruzen sighed, reminding the two about the reason for Kakashi's summoning. "Could you try to calm the girl Inu-kun? I'm sure you're curious about her well-faire as well."

"Very well," Kakashi sighed. "There's no harm in trying."

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**Tell me you're thoughts!**

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**Page 5**


	10. Chapter 10

**There is a reason**

Chapter 10: reassuring children

Koomahana

**Disclaimer: Naruto is not mine; you want the real stuff get off this site**

_Thoughts_

_Paragraphs are memories_

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><p>…<p>

Recap

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"They're both old enough to know how to read..." the blonde mumbled thoughtfully, unintentionally making Kakashi snort.

"Fubuki can read, Tayuya can't." Kakashi informed her. "Why is that important?"

"Sakura-chan told me that a girl was teaching her how to read," the woman informed them both. "She didn't elaborate so I thought that it might have been one of the girls she was with from... from that time..."

"It's passable..." Kakashi murmured thoughtfully. "Fubuki was overly protective of both Tayuya and Sakura. She didn't sleep or relax when they were away from her and she barely slept when they were with her."

"We don't have time to go all the way to the border of ogres to find her," Hiruzen sighed, reminding the two about the reason for Kakashi's summoning. "Could you try to calm the girl Inu-kun? I'm sure you're curious about her well-faire as well."

"Very well," Kakashi sighed. "There's no harm in trying."

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End Recap

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"Well Jiraya how are you feeling now?" Tsunade asked as she replaced the cloth on her teammate's forehead.

"A little better," Jiraya mumbled his face red and his eyes droopy. "Could you do me a favor Tsunade-Hime?"

"Hmm, what is it?" Tsunade asked curious, her actions frozen as she glanced down at her red-faced teammate.

"Don't move too much okay?" Jiraya asked with a mischievous smirk, Tsunade stared down dumbly at Jiraya for all of three seconds before she realized where he was looking.

"YOU DAMNED PERVERT!" Tsunade screeched punching Jiraya relentlessly in his bed. "And here I thought you actually caught one of Mizu's flues! You ass! See if I ever worry over you again!"

"No wait! Ack! Tsunade-Hime! Ow! I swear—ow! I'm sick~!"

Commences instant K.O. in Tsunade Senju's favor—not that she stopped beating Jiraya

"I thought we were supposed to be safe with two Sanin's with us," Inoichi grumbled watching the beat down from his own bed across the room. "But I actually feel like we might be in more danger..."

"Sometime's it's best to ignore the two," Fugaku grumbled from the table where he sat drinking tea with Shizune.

"That reminds me, Fugaku," Inoichi turned towards his dark haired teammate curiously. "Have you seen that seal before?" Fugaku hesitated in answering Inoichi in favor of giving a warning glance to Shizune, who quickly took the hint and returned to her mistress's side to try to calm the furious woman.

"Unfortunately it bares a strange and creepy resemblance to the second stage of the Sharingan," Fugaku answered, he glanced down to the drawing and glared at it pointedly, a dark fury bubbling beneath his black iris and nearly turning it red. "I can try to guess who it was based on the second stage resemblance, but that boy wasn't anywhere near the mist when the Mizukage was attached."

"Dose this mean that we don't know which Uchiha did this?" Inoichi questioned with a sigh

"It might not have been an Uchiha," Fugaku replied tensely.

"Huh? But if it's reminiscent of the Sharingan, something that only the Uchiha clan possess—"

"Kakashi Hatake," Fugaku snapped tersely, cutting Inoichi off rudely. "Is no Uchiha clan member."

"I see," Inoichi murmured his gazing turning thoughtful as he watched Shizune try to hold Tsunade back from beating Jiraya. "You think someone stole a Sharingan eye?"

"Yes," Fugaku growled out, glaring at the drawing hatefully. "And not just any Sharingan eye—Obito Uchiha's Sharingan eye."

"Dose that have meaning for you?" Inoichi asked curiously, "Because that name doesn't ring a—"

"Minato's dead student," Fugaku said calmly, his voice and face smoothing out into a blank nothingness, as if he didn't want to remember his blond friend.

"I see," Inoichi sighed, "Kakashi really is going to flip out."

"Hai," Fugaku agreed softly. "Especially when he learns that only he can remove it."

"What?!" Inoichi hissed, drawing attention from his other teammates. "What do you mean by that? Can he even do it?"

"With some extra training from me he can," Fugaku answered calmly, "and it's common with the second stage of the Sharingan. The whole 'if an Uchiha cast it an Uchiha can lift it', isn't an entire lie; it's just not the case this time. Someone stole Obito's other eye and Kakashi is the only other person in the world who has the same eye, therefore only Kakashi can lift the seal placed on the Mizukage."

"You do realize that when you approach Kakashi for Sharingan training, he'll think that you'll either trying to take back the Sharingan Obito gave him or that you're out to kill him, right?" Inoichi asked, not looking reassured by the information.

"I would never harm the last student of Minato Namikaze," Fugaku retorted looking like he just might be amused with the blonde man still laying in bed.

"Well then," Tsunade spook up, approaching the two with confidence and slight irritation. "I guess we'll just have to send a message back to Konoha for Kakashi's aid. Once he get's filled in I'd be surprised if he wasn't here within the hour after he gets the message."

"We're getting a headache when he arrives, aren't we?" Inoichi asked as Tsunade turned for the door

"What do you mean 'we'?" Tsunade asked as she marched out the door. "I'm leaving the explaining to you two."

"Aw man..." Inoichi groaned slumping in his bed, Fugaku sighed as he took another sip of his tea, Jiraya just groaned in pain from his destroyed bed.

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"Sakura calm down!" Yagura ordered, he hissed as a sharp blast of wind tried to cut him in half.

"Sakura-chan!" Rin shouted from her place jut a few feet away from Yagura, bracing herself against the howling winds that sprung into being and thrashed the mindscape that Sakura had created for Yagura and Rin. The trees were tipped nearly perfectly in half, the leafs of every tree and bush were gone, the grass was flat, the sky was black and gray with bright flashes of neon white.

The storm was more then a storm, it was the definition of a hurricane.

"Sakura-chan please calm down!" Rin cried out in the screaming wind, "Pleases! It's okay! You're safe!"

In the distance Yagura could make out the figure of an old man standing tall and proud in the storm, as if it had no effect on him. He was dressed in black pants and long sleeved turtleneck with a deep-sea foam green jacket. His hair was the color of dried blood and rested calmly at his shoulders, with flecks of gray and his eyes—his eyes made a shiver roll over Yagura's spine and shoulders. The man's eyes were like liquid Onex, as if they were all pupil and no iris—and they where filled with a kind look that Yagura knew well. It was how his councilors look at him, how some of the villagers looked at him, how some of his shinobi looked at him—the man looked as if he was calculating the value of a new weapon compared to its price, as if he was thinking about the worth of the creature shivering on the ground before him...

As if he couldn't decide to kill the shivering mass of a child on the ground... or if he should let it live to see if it still had any value in it left.

"Please Sakura wake up!" Rin cried out desperately. "He's not here! He won't get to you! He'll never find you!"

"_It's alright now Sakura-chan,_" another, deeper voice sounded in the air around them. "_Do you remember me? I found you in that dark closet a few months ago, you were hiding with Tayuya-san, remember?_"

"Kakashi?" Rin asked confused, her eyes wide in wonder as she stared at nothing in particular. "Kakashi is here? He found me?"

"_Sakura-chan do you remember me?_"

The winds lightened, the darkness brightened...

"Say yes Sakura-chan," Rin ordered softly, a fond smile stretching across her cheeks. "That's Kakashi-kun, he'll protect you always and forever. That's his promise—his promise of a life time."

"_Good girl,_" Kakashi cooed awkwardly. "_Do you want me to take you to your room?_"

"No," Yagura answered bluntly, feeling irritated with the man already.

"_D-don't,_" Sakura stuttered, it didn't take Yagura long to figure out that she could hear him even though she was conscience at the moment. "_G-go... don't go..._"

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"Shh... its okay, I won't go..." Kakashi murmured, his hold tightening on the tiny child clinging to him desperately. "I'll stay with you until the storm passes, Okay?" slowly the tiny child nodded, still afraid of the storm raging outside. Slowly, so that he doesn't frighten the girl further, Kakashi rose and turned, he nodded to the worried parents with heart broken expressions and quickly went up the stairs to the girl's room, where he would wait with her in the corner farthest from the window.

Even after the worst of the storm had passed, Sakura continued to sob and shiver in his arms

The storm finished its passing in the middle of the night, but still Sakura shivered and whimpered in his arms.

When daylight finally filtered through the cloudy window, Kakashi rose from the corner slowly and gently tucked Sakura into her bed. Patting her head gently, Kakashi murmured that he would return with the next storm and silently left the child's room, content that she would sleep easily now that the storm had passed.

Kakashi reported first to Sakura's parent's, who couldn't decide to hug him with their thanks or rush up the stairs to hold their daughter them selves. He then reported to Hiruzen, where he learned that he would go back to the land where the kidnapped girls were and search for the two girls who where with Sakura. If they were still there, he was to inform them of what had happen and ask if they would like to return with him to the village to visit Sakura.

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Yagura sighed as he stood at the edge of the lake, his face blank as he searched the distant sky for something he knew he would never see. Yagura didn't know how much longer he could stay within Sakura's mindscape; it felt like he was being pulled away little by little, as if a gentile wind was trying to push at him.

_I don't have much time left_ Yagura thought as he spotted a cloud in the distance. _Not much time at all..._

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><p>…<p>

**Thoughts are helpful**

**Opinions are wonderful**

**Helpful criticism****is**** lovely! Just don't cripple me okay?**

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**Page 6**


	11. Chapter 11

**There is a reason**

Chapter 11: More Information

Koomahana

**I****'m so sorry, ****accidentally**** posted ten as Nine and then reposed ten!**

**Disclaimer: Naruto is not mine; you want the real stuff get off this site**

_Thoughts_

_Paragraphs are memories_

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><p>…<p>

Recap

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><p>…<p>

The storm finished its passing in the middle of the night, but still Sakura shivered and whimpered in his arms.

When daylight finally filtered through the cloudy window, Kakashi rose from the corner slowly and gently tucked Sakura into her bed. Patting her head gently, Kakashi murmured that he would return with the next storm and silently left the child's room, content that she would sleep easily now that the storm had passed.

Kakashi reported first to Sakura's parent's, who couldn't decide to hug him with their thanks or rush up the stairs to hold their daughter them selves. He then reported to Hiruzen, where he learned that he would go back to the land where the kidnapped girls were and search for the two girls who where with Sakura. If they were still there, he was to inform them of what had happen and ask if they would like to return with him to the village to visit Sakura.

…

Yagura sighed as he stood at the edge of the lake, his face blank as he searched the distant sky for something he knew he would never see. Yagura didn't know how much longer he could stay within Sakura's mindscape; it felt like he was being pulled away little by little, as if a gentile wind was trying to push at him.

_I don't have much time left_ Yagura thought as he spotted a cloud in the distance. _Not much time at all..._

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End Recap

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Kakashi sighed as he slumped into his coat, glad to finally be off his feet. However, his relaxation was sort lived, two small bodies burst into his tent making Kakashi snap up into a sitting position. The sight of rushing pink was the only thing that saved the two girl's from the kunai that was hastily thrown aside so it wouldn't do them any harm.

"Inu-kun, Inu-kun," the girl's chanted together, halting at the edge of his bed with flaying arms to stop their mad rush towards him.

"Tayuya, Fubuki," Kakashi greeted with a lazy drawl as he swept his feet to the ground, both girls were eagerly between them, their arms wrapping around his neck and chest. "Hasn't anyone ever told the two of you not to barge in on shinobi?"

"No" the girls answered with matching grins as they pulled back slightly. Kakashi sighed as both girls tried to climb up into his lap, Fubuki helping Tayuya sit on his left before she attempted to sit on his right.

Fubuki had Sakura's almost neon pink hair and her eyes weren't as bright a green as Sakura's, Fubuki's eyes looked more like frozen slices of Granny Smith Apple's then the warm leafy green Sakura has. Fubuki was quite tall and already well developed for a ten year old; she could pass for being a very short sixteen year old and her violet and white kimono didn't help the impression at all.

Where Fubuki was tall for her age, Tayuya was quite small. Fubuki could stand easily just above Kakashi's elbow, but Tayuya could barely meet his hip. She was malnourished and appeared to have been abandoned at some point before the slave traders took her. Her pink hair was dull and lifeless, falling just passed her elbows like sheets of wet thread. Where both Fubuki and Sakura where so pale they looked as if they never saw the sun before, Tayuya's skin was well tanned by the sun looking almost like caramel. Even Tayuya's eyes were a different color then Fubuki and Sakura's; Tayuya's eyes looked like a half-frozen cup of coffee.

Yet as Tayuya giggled and chatted about her pranks on a few of the older shinobi, Kakashi could just barely make out small slivers of green in her eyes. No doubt those small slivers would be more pronounced when she grew up.

Kakashi had no doubt that somewhere along their family lines all three girls had the same ancestor. All three pinkette's had the same nose, jaw and cheekbones, their eyes being one of the few differences they shared. The three of them truly looked like sisters; it was scary to see how much of Sakura was in these two girls who were nothing like her.

"Is it true?" Fubuki suddenly asked, drawing Kakashi out of his thoughts and stopping Tayuya's excited chatter. "Is it true that Sakura got to go home before everyone else? Did she really get back to her parents?"

"Yes," Kakashi answered softly, studying the two girls closely. "It's actually why I'm here." Both girl's were suddenly paying very close attention to Kakashi, listening to his words like they were some kind of lifeline. "Three days ago, a storm swept through Konoha—"

"Sakura was afraid of the storm?" Fubuki asked, cutting Kakashi off.

"Yes," he answered, his dark eye narrowing slightly behind his mask

"I see," Fubuki and Tayuya both shared knowing looks, frowning with concern at each other. No one in this world could say that they were idiots, the girls were smart, there was no denying that.

"Lord Hokage was wondering if you both would like to visit with her?" Kakashi asked carefully

"Lord Hokage?" the girls asked in union, wonder and confusion marring their voices together

"Yes, Lord Hokage," Kakashi chuckled. "He's the leader of my village, Konohagakure." Both girls blinked dumbly at him before they shared matching confused looks with each other.

"Now Fubuki-san," Kakashi started, drawing attention back to himself. "Both lord Hokage and myself will understand if you wish to return home to Snow country instead of visiting with Sakura-chan. The decision is up to y—"

"There's no need," Fubuki said, cutting Kakashi off again, he was beginning to think that she liked doing that. "I have no home in Snow country. The slave traders killed my family when they took me. It'd be suicide to go back to snow country. People there can only survive by living together with their families, to take on another mouth to feed would be suicide for them—an orphan in snow country is a dead orphan."

"I see," Kakashi murmured, taken back by the girl's words. He never knew it was that bad in snow country. "I take it you'll be coming with me to Konoha then?"

"Yes—YES!" Kakashi blinked as Tayuya all but threw her self at Fubuki, wrapping her arms around the older girl's neck as she did so.

"I'm coming too!" Tayuya shouted giggling and crying at the same time. "I told everyone that we should stay together! Now we will!" Fubuki giggled as she steadied herself against Kakashi's leg, her arms wrapping around Tayuya, one hand rising to pat the younger girl's head affectionately.

"When will we leave?" Fubuki asked, turning her watery green eyes up to Kakashi expectantly.

"I just got here," Kakashi sighed, "Can't I have some rest before we head back? It's a long travel ya' know..."

"How long did it take for you to get here?" Tayuya asked curiously

"About three days,"

"Whoa! Are you slow?" Tayuya asked again, laughter dancing in her eyes

"No," Kakashi answered irritated with such a question

"So you're really fast?" Tayuya's laughing eyes turning into mocking eyes, she was planning something

"I'm about average," Kakashi answered slowly, Tayuya's smile widened and Fubuki sighed as if she knew what was going to happen next.

"When we go with you back to the village, how long will it take?" Fubuki asked, sounding like she was reciting a script

"About six days, give or take"

"I bet we could do it in half the time!" Tayuya shouted, her smile widening to split her face in half. "I bet we could make it in two days!"

"Tayuya, three and three make six," Fubuki scolded half-heartedly. "Three is half of six, how'd you get two from that equation?" okay so maybe only Fubuki was the smart one

"I know three is half of six," Tayuya whined to Fubuki pathetically. "I was thinking that we could annoy him along the way, that way we would reach the village faster!"

Realization dawned on Fubuki and Kakashi felt like he wanted to go back to bed and passably never wake up again.

_I'm doomed,_ Kakashi sighed when Fubuki turned to him with a mischievous grin, Tayuya soon joining her. _Pink haired girls are nothing but trouble_

"At least let me rest for the day, we can leave tomorrow morning at first light."

"Okay," the girls cheered together, hugging him before they rushed out of his tent. Yes, pink haired girls were nothing but trouble...

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When Kakashi had said 'first light' he hadn't quite been literal, he figured the girls still be sleeping when the sun came up. Oh, how wrong he was...

"INU-KUN!" Kakashi about had a heart attach when he felt two small bodies jump onto him, it took everything he had to not seriously harm the girls laying on him and giggling like little mad scantiest.

"You girl's are up awfully early," Kakashi groaned as he slowly released his white-knuckle grip on the edge of his coat. "I'd thought you both would want to sleep in..."

"No the slave trader's had a harsh schedule to keep," Tayuya piped up, smiling almost sadly at Kakashi. "It's all about five to nine, not nine to five!" Tayuya giggled, happy that she was free but sad she had to live like that for as long as she had. Good news is that Kakashi now understood why the slaver's weren't found as fast as they were, they had worse sleeping habits then most shinobi.

"You both understand what will happen when you get to Konoha, right?" Kakashi asked as he forced himself up into a half hearted sitting position. "Hokage-sama will want to know everything that you know about the slave traders. Everything from the time you were taken to the time we freed you, can you remember everything from back then?"

"I don't know," Tayuya mumbled softly, shrinking slightly as she nibbled on her lip thoughtfully. "I was pretty little when they took me... I barely remember my mom's face... and I don't even know if she's my real mom or if she was one of the older women who were taken to care for us little ones..."

"I'm sorry," Kakashi sighed, his eye sharp as he stared blankly at Tayuya. "Are you saying that these people have been at this for _Years_?"

"Yes," Fubuki answered slowly, flinching when Kakashi suddenly straightened and set them both before him on the coat gently. "I was seven when they took me, and the oldest slave I met at the base was eighteen and she was taken when she was five. She only stayed in the base for so long because she was a favorite of one of the guards, they were practically married. There were other older slaves but I never got to talk to them so I don't know how long they had been there."

"There's a base?" Kakashi asked, not believing his ears

"Yes," Tayuya confirmed slightly worried. "I've been there twice, but Fubu-nee has been there lost of times. The boss doesn't trust all of his men, so he keeps us 'rarer' and 'unique' ones away from the majority of the guards."

"Anyone with a different hair or eye color is separated from the main clump of kidnappies," Fubuki informed Kakashi calmly. "Hair color is sorted by letters, eye color by numbers. For example, blondes with blue eyes are called A1—they're a dime a dozen but blonde's with violet or green eyes are labeled as unique and placed in the higher quarters away from everyone else. The higher quarters are sectioned off into Rare, Unique and extraordinary. Tayuya, Sakura and my self are labeled as 'extraordinary' because of our hair color."

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><p>…<p>

**Thoughts are helpful**

**Opinions are wonderful**

**Helpful criticism****is**** lovely! Just don't cripple me okay?**

**Please no cursing!**

**And don't forget to review!**

**Page 6**


	12. Chapter 12

**There Is a reason**

Chapter 12: Finding the Base

Koomahana

**Disclaimer: Naruto is not mine; you want the real stuff get off this site**

_Thoughts_

_Paragraphs are memories_

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Head's up, I'm tiered of the recaps, so they're ending here

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"These aren't just some common thugs," Kakashi sighed, rubbing at his temple. He had taken as much information as he could from Tayuya and Fubuki as he could and then called a captain meeting with all of the captains that were still present in the lands. He had Tayuya wait in his tent because she was still pretty little and didn't quite understand everything that was happening around her, Fubuki was old enough to both understand and remain calm.

"These guys are prepared and well planned." One of the Suna captain's sighed, not liking the information very well. "Do you know where the basis is little one?" Fubuki shrugged her shoulders

Shrugging her shoulders, Fubuki asked "Which one?" Her question made several of the other captain's groan—that was not reassuring or helpful to them.

"Do you know the closest one?" a female Iwa captain asked, trying to appear friendly to the pink haired child sitting beside Kakashi, trying to appear calm despite her trembling fingers.

"Sorry no," Fubuki answered shifting uncomfortably in her seat. "I only ever went to the main base. I know it's general location, but I can't show you on a map..."

"Just tell us what you remember," the woman replied with a soft smile. "Close your eyes if it helps you remember..."

"Okay," Fubuki sighed, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath. "I remember there's little vegetation and what is, is like brush, it's dry and brittle. I don't see or hear any animals, there's only the crunching of the wheels on the gravel road..."

"What else do you remember?" the woman asked softly

"There's a river... at the base of a... of a mountain... it's not like what's in snow country... it's taller and wider... it's darker too..." Fubuki said softly, her brows tilting together in a frown. "It almost looks black... but it's brown... the road is a light tan color... and some of the larger rocks nearby are the same... but the mountain... the mountain looks out of place, like it doesn't belong..."

"What dose the mountain look like?" a large Kumo nin asked, his voice deep and low like rumbling thunder. "Does it have a strange shape?"

"Like... it looks kind of like... like a mud mountain..." Fubuki sighed as she opened her eyes and stared at the confused adults around her. "In snow country, some children take mud from the nearby hot springs and build small mountains. Children are to make their own mountain within the period of an hour, it's a game that keeps the children busy while adults talk. I once saw a girl make a mud mountain that was almost the same size as she was. When she went to add more mud to it, one of the nearby boy's tripped her and made her land in her mountain. The result was that half of it fell on her and she couldn't get out until someone pulled her out, she nearly suffocated because if it."

"So this mountain looks like her half destroyed mud mountain?" a mist Nin asked, raising a pale eyebrow in sarcasm.

"Perhaps it's an old volcanic mountain," a nearby Iwa kunochi suggested thoughtfully, staring at the large map laid out on the table before her. "If that's the case..."

"Then it must have erupted a few decades ago, especially if it's showing life already..." a mist kunochi said stepping forward and looking over the map. "In Mizu, what few mountains we have don't start growing life until a good decade or so after the explosion, depending on the percentage of life that survived the explosion..."

"You can't be serious Kaishin," the previous Mist Captain asked sarcastically. "Mizu Mountains are nothing like these mountains!"

"Your right," A Suna captain said as he stepped forward, quickly pealing back sheets of paper, looking for a specific map. "Those pale rocks she spoke of sound like the limestone and sandstone hills of eastern Suna..."

"and the dark mountain," a Kumo nin stepped forward, searching through the maps as well, "Brown but black rocks... that sounds a lot like Kumo's older volcanic mountains. They're all dead now, so no worries on that front. But all of them are catacomb, you could get lost in them if you're not careful."

"But to have both Suna's sand and limestone hills, plus Kumo's dark mountains..." the Iwa and Mist kunochi's were now side by side, flipping through the maps and scanning through them quickly and easily.

"It was always sunny," Fubuki said trying to be helpful. "It was dry too, not hot, but dry. There was a waterfall that fed the river at the base of the mountain and it had an underground river too. I remember that much from within the mountain."

"Is there anything else you remember from inside the mountain?" The same kind Iwa kunochi asked as she squatted next to Fubuki, still trying to seem friendly to the child. "Was it shiny on the inside? Was there a lot of light?"

"Yes," Fubuki answered smiling and nodding. "There was lots of light, the halls were always well lit by the sun, even at night the stars and moon lit up the hallways so you didn't need touches. On the first full moon I saw there, the black rock of the halls almost seemed to glow, it was really pretty."

"So a black mountain surrounded in pale rock, but inside the mountain glows?" the woman asked, not quite understanding Fubuki

"No the mountain doesn't glow on the inside," Fubuki corrected quickly. "The black rock on the inside is smooth like glass and it has lots of white specks, they almost look like stars—especially when the moon light touches it."

"That could only be one mountain," the Iwa kunochi at the large table piped, leaning half way across the table to snatch up a large map of the five nations. "Here," she said, pointing to a section between Kumo, Suna and Konoha. "There's a mountain rage here, they're black mountains with diamonds mixed in. I remember crossing them during the war, the mountain range here is surrounded by Sandstone dust and chunks of marble."

"But that's rain country," Kakashi said as he examined the map, "And a damn good way's from our current location."

"They knock us out," Fubuki piped up, flinching when several the adults glared at her. "Sorry, I didn't know if that was important or not. They do that only when we're going back to the base, half the time we wake up just enough to see the entrance. So none of us really know how long we've been out or how long we've been traveling; just that we're really stiff, hungry and thirsty when we arrive."

"They must have given you girl's one hell of a knock out drug," Kaishin mumbled, shaking her head

"One of the older girls said that we'd stop leaving the base after a certain age," Fubuki continued. "She said that after a while we grew immune to the drug and we weren't permitted to leave the base ever again. She said the only way to leave was to get sold or to die."

"Great," the kunochi by Kaishin grumbled, just low enough that Fubuki couldn't hear her. "Great point of view from the girls, this should be easy..."

"Remember something about these girls," Kakashi said as he straightened from his place and took a good long look at the other captains in the large tent with him. "All of these children know no other life, then the life of a slave. They were taken as children and raised this way, it's all they know. And Humanity is known to fight for what they know best."

"Are you saying that these girls are likely to fight us then leave with us?" Kaishin asked with wide disbelieving eyes. "Who'd want to be a slave?"

"These girls know nothing but slavery," one of the Kumo captain's sighed, straightening from where he was slumped over the large table. "If you were raised in it, you'd fight for it too. Especially if you don't know what freedom is and are scared of your captors."

"Stockholm syndrome?" another captain asked curiously, "you think most of those children have it?"

"It's a good guess," Kakashi agreed, depressed by the possibility. "At this point, it's just best to be ready for anything."

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A few months later

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In the Mizukage's bedroom, the council of the hidden mist, the Kage's student and the entire leaf team all stood and sat around the room. Inoichi was sitting behind the council at a table with Yuriko and Shizune holding an ice pack to his blond head and starring grumpily at his plate of half-burnt food and a cup of bubbling... something. While Tsunade had been in the village she had helped with Yuriko's training, teaching the girl the ways of a medic faster then any of the hidden mists medics could. Yuriko, in all of her red headed glory, was as close to a manufactured natural as one could get. Her parents helped a lot having taught her as much as they could as they raised her, Yuriko's mother was a herbalist and her father was a low class medic. After half a year of training with Tsunade, Yuriko was now her father's superior in the hospital but was actually the same rank as him as a shinobi.

"Okay Jiraya are you ready?" Tsunade asked as she took her place beside the comatose Kage

"We've had an entire year to be sure," Jiraya grumbled as he took his place at the foot of the bed. "I can't believe that we had to waste half of that time waiting for Kakashi to get back from his mission."

"That was an S-ranked mission, thank you very much," Kakashi replied as he took his placement beside the Mizukage and across from Tsunade. "Those girls had to be saved, and besides that mission didn't take nearly as long as that accursed training I was forced to do with Fugaku-sama."

"If you're going to wield the Sharingan then you need to learn _how_ to wield the Sharingan," Fugaku replied with a stern glare at Kakashi from just behind Jiraya and in front of the mist council, his Sharingan flashing warningly at the young Anbu. "Be glad I didn't rip that eye out."

"Can we get on with this?" Kakashi asked, choosing to ignore the older man. "I'm missing the pink reunion for this..."

"Do I want to know?" Tsunade asked as she activated the seal on the floor and made a hand sign. She had created the seal months ago and it had been waiting to be activated for weeks now, she was glade to finally putting it to use.

"What is a pink reunion?" Jiraya asked curiously, as he formed a hand sign and joined in on the seal, stabilizing it.

"That was the point of my last mission," Kakashi answered as he stepped forward and lifted his headband. "I had to search out and bring back three pink haired sisters. I was able to return the youngest one but the two older ones had to get brought back my kohai."

"Aw I get it," Tsunade smirked at Kakashi as he bent over the sleeping Kage, "You're jealous of your Kohai, you got attached to the girls! I hope you didn't pull a Jiraya."

"Tsunade-Hime!" Kakashi shouted as he stumbled backwards, what little of his face that wasn't covered by his mask was red and his eye was wide with horror. "The eldest is ten! I wouldn't even consider the girl like that! She's too much trouble and the other one is even worse!"

"Hurry up already!" Yuriko shouted from where she sat, ignoring the glare from a few nearby medics.

"Come on you guys!" Yuriko whined, "We've waited all year for this!"

"Alright," Jiraya chuckled, smirking at the girl a few feet behind him. "Kakashi are you ready?"

"Do you have to ask?" Kakashi asked as he leaned back over the boy. _I can't believe this guy is the Mizukage, he's younger then I am!_

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><p>…<p>

**Should I make the chapters longer?**

**I'm up to 27 chapters in my file**

**The reasons why I don't update massively is because of two Reasons:**

**One: I need the reviews so I know what to fix and if I'm making the characters a little too OOC**

**And**

**Two: I'll only end up getting the reviews I want on the last chapter that I have posted, not on every chapter which means that when I go back to fix something I'll have to adjust the entire story accordingly and then update the fixed version—that only annoys everyone.**

**In other words, I'll end up with another 'Return Twist' instead of a story that everyone could enjoy...**

**Thoughts are helpful**

**Opinions are wonderful**

**Helpful criticisms**** lovely! Just don't cripple me okay?**

**Please no cursing!**

**And don't forget to review!**

**Page 6**


	13. Chapter 13

**There is a reason**

Chapter 13: Releasing the seal

Koomahana

**Okay so i just updated chapters 1, 5, 6 and 7!**

**and by 'updated' i mean that i fixed a few detail like Yagura's age and the colors of Sakura's mind-scape as well as a few other minor grammar and spelling mistakes! :)**

**Disclaimer: Naruto is not mine; you want the real stuff get off this site**

_Thoughts_

_Paragraphs are memories_

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><p>…<p>

"Sakura-chan!" Tayuya shouted when she caught sight of the hidden leaf's gates. Hiruzen, his councilors, several Jonin's and the Haruno family all stood together at the gates awaiting the return of the team who rescued Sakura so long ago. Tayuya smiled and climbed down from the young Anbu's back she had been ridding on and rushed forward as fast as she could, Fubuki quickly falling behind her. Sakura turned from beside her mother and stared at Tayuya and Fubuki in confusion until she recognized their long pink hair.

"Nee-chan!" Sakura screamed the second she recognized the two older girls, she let go of her mother's surprised grip and ran as fast as she could towards the laughing older girls. "Fu-nee! Ta-nee! You're here!"

"Of course we are!" Tayuya shouted as she ran forward, her pink hair whipping behind her. "I told you we should of stayed together!" Tayuya, Fubuki and Sakura all laughed as they collided together, nearly toppling over in their rush to meet again. Yes, it had taken time to return to the village, the day the girls were going to leave the camp; Fubuki had to talk to the other captains about the base the kidnappers operated out of. Then a messenger had arrived informing Kakashi that he was needed elsewhere, the other captains then decided that Fubuki and Tayuya could help them find the mountain they were looking for. Once that was done and the ring had been officially annihilated, then the girls could go to Konoha for their 'little sister'.

Overall, the three pinkette's had been away for nearly a year until that one moment.

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Kakashi opened his left eye and activated the Sharingan, after pealing open the Mizukage's eyes he activated the Mangekyō and entered the boy's mind.

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Sakura coughed harshly in the embrace of Tayuya and Fubuki, making the older girls loosen their old on her. Coughing some more, Sakura collapsed to her knees, her coughing worsening as she struggled to breath properly.

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Kakashi gritted his teeth as he first came across the Sanbi who interrogated him for a few minutes before helping him start to undo the seal placed on the Mizukage.

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Sakura screamed as she clutched at her head, tears falling from her eyes. She barely noticed how her mother grabbed at her, trying to calm her down nor did she see the fearful look on Tayuya's and Fubuki's faces. One of the medics who was traveling with the two older pinkette's hurried forward and placed a glowing palm against Sakura's head where her pain appeared to be coming from.

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Kakashi grunted as he fought with the foreign chakra within the seal. It really didn't want to be removed from the Mizukage. Did they wait too long to remove the seal? Feeling particularly agitated Kakashi jabbed at the seal, forcing out as much of the foreign chakra as he could.

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The medic gasped as he landed into a tree, something had jut physically removed him from the pinkette he was trying to help. He heard several startled voices shout, the girl's mother shouting in a panic as the Hokage hurried toward him and the two older pinkette's rush towards Sakura, tears dropping from their eyes.

His hearing was ringing and his sight was blurry, the only thing he saw before he fell into unconsciousness was the face of one of his teammates.

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Kakashi sighed in relief as several warm and welcoming chakra's surrounded him, calming the hurricane that was the Mizukage's mindscape. He tried not to think about where the chakras were coming from, he tried not to think about who they belonged too. He just knew that they were helping him and he wasn't about to make them go away for that; he could use them to his advantage. Kakashi looked down at the single eyed turtle Bijuu swimming in the waters just below him, the demon's eye blinked lazily at him and Kakashi swore that there was a tiered look to the turtle's single red eye.

"_Let's get this show on the road okay?_" Kakashi asked as he tried to smile at the demon who was trying to be helpful. "_You can summon the Mizukage as soon as the seal is removed, that sound good to you?_"

"_You can handle the rest,_" The Sanbi sighed as he faded into the deep waters.

"_I'll take your word for it,_" Kakashi chuckled as he returned his attention back to the seal

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"_Nii-tan! Nii-tan don't go!_" Sakura shouted as she ran through the forest of her mindscape, rushing towards the pale-green haired boy walking away from her. The forest faded into the golden abyss that she used to play in with Rin, before the boy arrived and she had more chances to play.

"_Nii-tan! Nii-tan please!_" Sakura screamed, she was rushing towards him and he was only walking away, but for some reason she wasn't catching up to him. He was getting further away from her without even trying.

"_Yagura-Nii!_" Sakura screamed just as she tripped and fell on the golden abyss, sniffing she looked up at the paused boy a few dozen feet away from her, a large white glowing door in front of him.

"_Nii-tan pleases!_" Sakura begged, tears dripping from her face. "_Please don't leave me! Please stay!_"

"_I can't stay Sakura_," Yagura said softly, half turned towards her. "_I have a life to get back too_..."

"_You're life is here!_" Sakura shouted as she tried to climb back onto her feet. "_Please don't leave me behind! Please_—"

"_Sakura-chan_," Rin called out softly, placing a calm restraining hand on Sakura's shoulder and keeping the pinkette still. "_Yagura is not the same as me. He is truly living and it is time for him to return home._"

"_But why can't he stay?_" Sakura asked, fat tears dripping down her face. "_What's wrong with staying here with us?_"

"_Do you want him to die?_" Rin asked as she kneeled to look in Sakura's eyes. "_Is that what you want Sakura-chan? Do you want your nii-kun to die?_"

"_No_," Sakura replied turning to look at Yagura worriedly. "_I don't want him to get hurt or to go away forever. I want Nii-tan to stay forever._" Rin sighed and wrapped her arms around Sakura in a loose comforting hug.

"_We don't always get what we want_," Rin sighed, fighting her own tears. "_Sometimes we have to let go of the ones we love most, so that they could be happy without us._"

"_I'm going with him!_" Sakura shouted as she struggled in Rin's hold, trying to get to Yagura. "_Let go Rin-nee! Let go!_"

"_No Sakura-chan_," Rin sighed as her gentile hug turned restrictive. "_If you follow him you'll die, is that what you want?_"

"_I don't care!_" Sakura shouted struggling in Rin's hold, "_Yagura-nii! Yagura-nii!_"

"_It's going to be okay Sakura-chan_," Yagura said turning around to look at Sakura and Rin, a sad smile tilting his lips. "_Everything's going to be okay. It'll take time but I promise you that I'll find you and when I do we can be real siblings then, okay?_"

"_You promise?_" Sakura asked, not seeing how Rin glared warningly at Yagura. "_You promise you'll find me, Nii-tan?_"

"_I promise_," Yagura smiled as the light of the door started to consume him. "_Someday I'll find you, Imoto..._"

"_Nii-tan!_" Sakura screamed as the light enveloped Yagura completely. "_Nii-tan! Nii-tan!_"

"_Someday_," Yagura sighed

"_NII—TA—AN!_"

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Sakura gave out a loud wail and cried in Tayuya and Fubuki's embrace until she fell asleep, too tiered to continue crying.

The boy who was with her for the past year was gone and he would never return to her, he couldn't possibly find her, not when she had been hiding her appearance from him for so long.

Just how was he supposed to keep his promise?

Sakura never saw the expression Hiruzen had given her, the suspicion and worry in his eyes, the deep frown of his lips and the way his chakra suddenly pulled into his body, hiding his presence from everyone

Only the young man who traveled with the pinkette's hanging on his back had noticed the look Hiruzen wore as he stared at the tiny child wailing in her 'sisters' arms.

_I hope things don't get worse_, the young man thought as he watched the Haruno family, the parent's heart broken as they watched their daughter eventually calm in the girls' arms. _I hope Danzo doesn't find out..._

He feared that the scared man already knew

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Kakashi sighed in relief as the last of the seal faded away, leaving the Mizukage's body completely. It wasn't long until a large bubble emerged from the deep waters of the Mizukage's mindscape, slowly revealing the boy in control of the hidden mist village.

"_Well hello sleeping beauty,_" Kakashi joked when the boy stepped out of the bubble and on to the surface of the ocean, the Sanbi hovering protectively just beneath him.

"_You make it a habit to freak out your entire village kid?_" Kakashi asked as he approached the boy calmly, hands in his pockets. "_You even had cute little Yuriko-chan crying at one point—whoa!_" Kakashi ducked as Yagura took a swipe at him, deciding that he should get out of range Kakashi quickly flipped away from the suddenly irritated looking boy.

"_Geez kid I just saved your ass and that's how you thank me?_" Kakashi asked as he landed in a low crouch, he was only kidding with the boy.

"_Yuriko is underage,_" Yagura growled out, glaring warningly at Kakashi. "_Stay away from her old man, in less you're looking forward to spending jail time for molesting a child._"

"_Okay one, Yuriko looks like she's sixteen, that's hardly my fault I didn't exactly get to ask her age yet._" Kakashi said as he raised his hands in surrender towards the boy. "_And two, I'm not old. I'm only seventeen_."

"_Yeah and I'm twelve_," Yagura sneered. "_I'm not a brat old man; I'm twenty-one already so_—"

"_You're twenty-one?!_" Kakashi asked surprised, one brow twitching wildly. "_But you're shorter then me!_"

"... _Are you really only seventeen?_" Yagura asked, his strange weapon lowing slightly

"_Yes!_"

"..._And I'm the brat,_" Yagura sighed as he hooked his weapon on his back, deeming Kakashi too inexperienced to be a threat. "_I'm older then you are, __**you're**__ the kid._"

"_Can you jut wake up now?_" Kakashi asked with a sigh, "_I actually have better things to do then to argue with you about which of us is the bigger brat._"

"_You'll always be a brat,_" Yagura smirked as he kicked Kakashi out of his mindscape. Once the strange gray haired teen was gone, Yagura turned and squatted on the water, looking down into the Sanbi's solemn eye.

"_Why are my memories fading?_" Yagura asked as glared down at the turtle. "_Why are their face's blurring?_"

"_Because you're finally back in your own body,_" the Sanbi answered. "_Everything was clear on the other side because you were looking through someone else's eyes. Now that you are back in your own body, you must create something to keep the memories in place._"

"_I have to create something to keep the both of them in mind?_" Yagura asked with a twitching eyebrow. "_How am I supposed to do that?_"

"_I'll show you,_" the Sanbi said, encasing Yagura and pulling him into the deep waters. "_I have a statue of my first host down here with me. I created it out of my only memory of the girl, as such it's kind of sad looking..._" Yagura wanted to ask if it was sad in shape because the Sanbi had no art skills or because of something else. He got his answer when he saw just what the Sanbi was speaking about. Far below the surface of the ocean and carved into the Onex stones of the ocean floor, was a statue so real looking Yagura had actually thought that it was real.

"_That's Rin when she died?_" Yagura asked as he approached the statue. Rin's head was bowed slightly as tears rolled down her tattooed cheeks, her hands clasped together in front of her chest partially hiding the thin whole in her chest. Her blue shirt was torn partially at her chest area, her white medic skirt was fluttering gently in the current of the ocean.

"_She was apologizing to me..._" the Sanbi sighed as he drifted a little closer to the tiny statue that was a perfect replica of the dead kunochi. "_Here is were you will build the girl you wish to remember,_" the Sanbi said as he dug a claw into the dirt beside Rin. "_It is ready for your molding skills..._"

"_I don't have any molding skills,_" Yagura warned as he stepped forward and started to build up the mud and stone into a pile a little shorter then Rin's knee. "_She might not turn out right..._"

"_Just try to remember what she looked like,_" the Sanbi advised. "_Let your chakra flow freely, don't control it, and relax your mind. Remember you're memories of the girl guild your hands. They will know what to do..._"

Yagura sighed as he tried to take the advice seriously, letting his chakra slip out of his control to flow freely and remembering everything he could about the little girl he promised to find.

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><p>…<p>

"Are you alright Kakashi?" Tsunade asked as she picked Kakashi up from the floor. "It's only been a few minutes..."

"It felt like hours..." Kakashi groaned as he rubbed at his forehead. "Yo' brat you up yet?"

"Huh? Kakashi are you okay?" Tsunade asked with a frown as she tried to check Kakashi for a fever. "Who are you calling a brat?"

"I'm fine," Kakashi mumbled at the blonde while he glanced down at the still sleeping Mizukage. "I just spoke to the Mizukage, he's back and well, why isn't he awake yet?"

"He might be talking to the Sanbi," Yuriko suggested as she stepped forward and brushed a finger against the young man's scar beneath his left eye. "Ya it's warm, he's defiantly talking to the Sanbi."

"How can you tell?" Jiraya asked curiously

"When Sensei is talking to his demon, his left eye glows," Yuriko answered stepping away from Yagura quickly. "Sometimes if I can't see Sensei's eye then I can tell by touching his scar. He doesn't like it but it works."

"Why doesn't he like it when you touch his scar?" Jiraya asked, tilting his head to the side, the girl gave Jiraya a secretive smile before taking a few more steps away from the Mizukage.

"Who touched me?" A low voice growled out, full of dangerous intent and possible physical abuse.

"No one!" Yuriko chimed cheerfully at Yagura as he glared at her and sat up slowly.

"Damn it girl I told you not to do that, it's annoying as hell." Yagura grumbled lowly, ignoring the leaf nin around him

"And distracting," Yuriko grinned at Yagura playfully. "Are you ready to eat something? I imagine you're pretty hungry."

"Not right this second," Tsunade warned as she flung one of Kakashi's arms over her shoulder. "Give the boy a second to recuperate."

"I'm not a boy!" Yagura growled out as he glared at Tsunade

"Yes and you have paper work to do," one of the councilmember's said as he stepped forward, arms full of paper work. "You've missed an entire year after all..." Yagura's glare was instantly replaced with a horrified look

"All that paper work..." Yagura mumbled, raising a hand to rub at his temple. "A year's worth of paper work... I'll never get it finished..."

"Don't worry too much Sensei," Yuriko grinned as she approached him with a class of water. "The council and I tended to everything but the 'A' and above paper work. That's the only files you really have to go through."

"Thank you..." Yagura said as he took the glass of water and gave Yuriko a strange look.

"Yuriko-chan has been surprisingly helpful with the paper work," the older then dust council member said from his seat

"Yuriko..." Yagura repeated slowly, his eyes sliding to look at the red head kneeling beside him as he sipped at his water.

"Yes?" Yuriko asked, tilting her head and batting her lashes

"... Could you get your sister to cook something for me please?" Yagura asked, "I am a little hungry..."

"What's wrong with my cooking?" Yuriko asked, with a look of betrayal shot at her sensei

"If I felt like eating charcoal I'd dig some out of the fire pit," Yagura replied strait faced

"My cooking skills have improved since you've been out!" Yuriko defended with tears in the corner of her eyes.

"That's an improvement?" Jiraya asked softly as he stared at the trashcan in the corner of the room, small black wisps of smoke rising from inside

"My seven year old can cook better then that," Fugaku grumbled lowly. _Then again he doesn't really cook, all the meals makes are rice dishes... mostly onigiiri..._

"Charcoal is better then mud," Inoichi grumbled from where he sat with an ice pack held to head. Both Jiraya and Fugaku raised their eyebrows at him, "Jiraya if you had kids you'd understand. Fugaku hasn't either one of your children come to you covered in mud and telling you that they were playing house with a few other kids?" Fugaku's pale face and scared eyes said that one of his sons apparently did... and it didn't end well for Fugaku.

"... They haven't reassured me in the least," Yagura said when the leaf Nin's finally quieted. Yuriko bowed her head left the room with a depressed air; Tsunade sighed and carried Kakashi as she approached Yuriko. Placing one hand on the girl's Shoulder, Tsunade tried to cheer the girl up with a smile.

"Don't worry about it too much Yuriko-chan," Tsunade smiled. "Medics aren't typically that great at cooking anyways."

"You can't cook either Tsunade-sama?" Yuriko asked with hope shinning in her eyes

"I'm the heir of a clan, of course I can cook," Tsunade said strait faced, Yuriko all but fell over.

"Just not food pills" Jiraya grumbled as he started to leave the room

"What was that?" Tsunade asked glaring over her shoulder at her white haired teammate

"Nothing," Jiraya said quickly, his face pale and his smile false. Tsunade 'humped' and continued out of the room, not catching Jiraya's relived sigh or Fugaku's and Inoichi's amused chuckles as they fallowed after her.

…

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><p>…<p>

**Thoughts are helpful**

**Opinions are wonderful**

**Helpful criticism****is**** lovely! Just don't cripple me okay?**

**Please no cursing!**

**And don't forget to**** rate and**** review!**

**Page 9**


	14. Chapter 14

**There is a reason**

Chapter 14: some Time Skipping: Meeting an Uchiha

Koomahana

**Disclaimer: Naruto is not mine; you want the real stuff get off this site**

_Thoughts_

_Paragraphs are memories_

…

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><p>…<p>

"Terumī Mei I can't belief you lied to them!" Yagura shouted the second he was alone with his female student, true that she was his only one left but that didn't mean she could use her little sister's name. "They're our allies! What'll you do when you meet with them again?"

"Tsunade-sama already knows," Mei reassured with a smile. "I told her before she started my training, I asked her not to tell anyone until after she left the hidden mist."

"Really?" Yagura asked from his bed, his brow rising curiously, "Pray tell, what was her reaction?"

"You don't want to know," Mei answered, pressing one hand to her mouth as if she was sick.

"Why'd you use your little sister's name?" Yagura asked with a sigh, leaning against his mound of pillows tiredly. "You do realize that could have back fired right?"

"Yeah I know," Mei agreed with a sad looking smile. "But Yuriko-chan said that every Kunochi needs a fake name."

"She gave you permission?" Yagura asked with a raised eyebrow, "Your little sister, who throws frying pans at your head for a living, gave you permission to use her name as an alias?"

"Umm..." Mei smiled shyly at her teacher, her cheeks reddening slightly. "...Technically..."

_THW—ACK_ "IDIOT!" "OW!"

…

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><p>…<p>

"Congratulations Sakura-chan," Hiruzen chuckled as he signed the papers on his desk. "You now have two older sisters, Fubuki and Tayuya!" Sakura laughed as she hugged her newly named sisters. Mebuki and Kizashi, her parents, had decided that their similarity to Sakura was uncanny, so they decided to adopt the two older girls—their heartbreaking tales had nothing to do with it.

"Dose this mean we can enter the academy?" Fubuki asked with wide hopeful eyes to her new parents, Mebuki and Kizashi chuckled and agreed to enter the both of them into the academy.

"No," one of the village council members snapped, surprising the five Haruno's

"Yes," Hiruzen corrected just as quickly that the old man had spoken. "I see no point in preventing two, very smart, little girls entrance to our academy. They will have a lot of work to do if they want to catch up to their class mates though..."

"We can do it!" Tayuya shouted worriedly, "We can catch up to our classmates! Please let us enter the academy!"

"We'll be the top of our classes faster then anyone can blink," Fubuki agreed just as quickly as her panicking sister. "We'll be the top students and exceed your expectations—"

"Whoa, whoa there little ones," Hiruzen chuckled waving a passive hand at the two panicking girls. "I said you _can_ enter the academy. I'm not too worried about your grades, I know you both will do well and become two of our best kunochi's yet."

"What'a bout me?" Sakura asked as she peaked around Fubuki with wide curious eyes. "Can I get in the academ-ty too?"

"You'll have to wait until you're a little older Sakura-chan," Hiruzen said with an amused smile at the girl. "Your three, most don't enter the academy until they're six."

"But I wana be with my sisters," Sakura whined looking up at her mother pleadingly

"You'll have to work on your speech," Mebuki said as she kneeled and patted her daughter's head gently. "And your writing and reading will have to improve too, all of that takes time. Especially if you want to pass the entrance examines, that takes a lot of studying too."

"I can do it," Sakura reassured her mother, looking back at Hiruzen with her best puppy dog eyes. "Pweelse let me try,"

"Alright," Hiruzen chuckled, giving into the youngest pinkette's big watery eyes. "I'll give you a year to prepare. If you don't make it when you're four you can try again when you're six, okay?"

"Whys not agwain next year?" Sakura asked curiously, tilting her head to the side. "Whys I wait two years to try again?"

"You're very smart," Hiruzen smiled. "Because that's when other's your age will be entering the academy, don't you want to be with kids your own age?"

"No," Sakura answered bluntly "I wana be with my sisters."

"We'll just have to see then," Hiruzen chuckled at the pinkette. "We'll see how you do on your test, if you get ninety percent, we'll allow you entrance when you're four, okay?"

"But lord Hokage," Mebuki call, worry in her green eyes. "Sakura-chan will be four in three months..." Sakura giggled cheerfully, Tayuya cheered shouting how smart her new baby sister was and Fubuki just smirked knowingly at Hiruzen, amusement shinning in her bright green eyes.

"Oppose..." Hiruzen sighed and resisted the urge to rub at his nose, his three council members turned to glare irritated at him, undoubtedly already thinking of things to call him when the family left.

"You prowmissed!" Sakura shouted with a wide smile. "A prowmiss is a prowmiss! I enter when I'm four and take the test! If I pass I can enter the acadam-ty with my sisters!"

"And if you fail you try again when your six," Hiruzen reminded the girl

"I won't fail," Sakura said with a wide smile and bright eyes. "That a promise!"

…

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><p>…<p>

Two weeks after their adoption, Tayuya and Fubuki entered the Konoha Academy for their first exam. An hour later, the two all but skipped out of the academy waving their tests at their parents proudly. Tayuya had gotten a passing 78 percent while Fubuki had gotten the highest score in the exam—a whopping 95 percent.

"Nice job Nee-chan!" Sakura cheered as Fubuki and Tayuya stopped beside her

"It's all thanks to you Sakura-chan," Tayuya cheered as she swept the smaller girl into a tight hug. "I couldn't have passed if you didn't help me with my reading."

"I couldn't have passed if you didn't make those flash cards," Fubuki agreed as she patted Sakura on the head. "You'll defiantly pass the exam when it's your turn. Study hard while we're at school okay?"

"Okay!" Sakura giggled cheerfully, knowing her own examine would be in two and half months. "It's a promise!"

…

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><p>…<p>

It had taken some time to find a new house for all five of them, but they did find one that was close to the academy. The house was wooden and beautiful in every meaning of the word; the three girls never noticed how both Mebuki and Kizashi had shared a knowing look when they first saw the house. It had a large back yard with several large tree's and the house was two stories with two extra guest rooms plus the three bedrooms for the girls and the main bedroom. The house almost seemed to have been built for the Haruno family, going so far with the circle crest on the staircase and the moldings; unnoticed to the untrained eye. There were flower's carved onto Sakura's door, multiple snowflakes on Fubuki's door and dancing leafs on Tayuya's. Mebuki and Kizashi's bedroom door had dancing butterflies, flowers and leaves swirled into the circle of the Haruno crest.

"Sakura-chan are you okay?" Tayuya called as she knocked on the now familiar bedroom door, she didn't hear anything from the other side and the silence in the early morning was enough to worry her—Sakura was an early riser.

"It's the day of the exam, why isn't she awake?" Fubuki asked as she and Tayuya shared a worried look. Tayuya slowly opened the door to Sakura's room. Inside was a complete mess, which was not natural to Sakura, Tayuya maybe but not Sakura. Tayuya automatically screamed for her adoptive mother, worry and fear projected in her voice making it echo inside their home. Fubuki was much calmer as she entered the room carefully and searched for something that wasn't supposed to be present. Fubuki ignored Mebuki and Kizashi's worried talking as she continued to examine her baby sister's room.

"Got it," Fubuki said, silencing her panicking family as she squatted on the floor before the window, her eyes locked onto a small puddle of blood. "Sakura-chan must have landed a hit on the person who took her; either that or she cut herself again."

"Again?" Tayuya asked as she stepped into the room to examine the small palm sized puddle of blood. "Why dose she do that? It could get infected if she's not careful."

"Don't be silly Tayuya," Fubuki scolded halfheartedly, she rose and pointed at the window rail. "She left us a trail to fallow. This is helpful to us not a hindrance; Sakura is a very smart little girl."

"What are we going to do?" Tayuya asked examining the bloody window pain.

"You go to lord Hokage and tell him what's going on," Fubuki answered as she stepped onto the rail and looked around her for the next bloody drop. "I'm going after Sakura-chan."

"No!" Mebuki shouted automatically but it was too late, Fubuki was already gone and Tayuya was climbing out the window as well. "Kizashi go with Tayuya!" Mebuki snapped as she hurried towards the window herself. "I'll fallow Fubuki, it's better if she has someone with her."

"Alright, be safe," Kizashi called as he fallowed after Tayuya easily. He may have still been a genin when his daughter was taken, but he had taken the chunin examine and passed. He was never going to let someone take his daughter again—any of them.

…

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><p>…<p>

He was listening to his instructor about the test he would have to pass if he wanted to graduate early, but he found something else more transfixing then the Chunin's slow and low grumble of words. A flash of his Sharingan revealed that the disturbance behind the chunin was a man running through the tree's... carrying something small and pink over his shoulder. Itachi found the strange man curious and left before his instructor finished his sentence, disappearing quickly and giving chase to the strange man. When he caught up, he saw that the small pink thing over the man's shoulder was a child, a child with bound hands and unconscious. Hearing a loud wail in the air, he quickly took cover into a low bush. The man must have seen him because he through a kunai at him, he barely dodged in time; the kunai flew past and hit a small rabbit, making it give out a loud ear shattering scream.

"_Amber alert! Amber alert! All shinobi search and rescue one Sakura Haruno! She has pink hair! Amber alert! Amber alert! All shinobi search and rescue one pink haired girl!_"

He blinked back at the village wall in curiosity, that voice was slightly panicked sounding and the alarm had gone and frightened the strange man... he hissed and quickly tore after the man as quickly as he could. The strange man was carrying a bound pink haired little girl, he was jumpy and wounded in his left leg. The man had kidnapped one of the children of Konohagakure, weather or not this was a test, he would rescue the little girl quickly and effectively.

No one kidnapped a citizen of Konoha with the thought of getting away with it

When he found the strange man still running through the high treetops, he quickly noticed that the wound in the man's leg had gotten worse; leaving behind a wider trail and a stronger scent. Snapping off a small tree limb (he had no weapons on himself a small branch would have to do) he burst forward with as much speed as he could muster and attacked the strange man. He started with kicking the strange man in the back of the head, fallowed by slamming the sharp end of his twig branch into the man's right leg. The man screamed and fell forward, out of the treetops and releasing the girl he had kidnapped. He burst forward a second time, landing against a tree with the tiny knocked out child in his arm. He looked down at the bound child and saw that her mouth was gagged as well... and that she was about the same age as his little brother. Resisting the urge to wound the man further, he turned and ran as fast as he could, taking to the tree tops where he would come across more of his own fellow shinobi.

A little over an hour later he reached the first wall of his village, he paid the two guards there no mind as he ran past them and continued further into the village. Just as he left the first tree line in the village and landed on the first house he came across, a relieved voice screamed out into the air, drawing his attention immanently.

"Sakura!" Mebuki shouted rushing towards him with a few Anbu's close behind her and Fubuki beside her. "Did that man hurt her? Is she okay?!"

"She appears to be just fine," he answered calmly when the team landed on the same roof and Mebuki swept forward for the girl and calmly held the pinkette out to the panicking blonde and older pinkette. "The man was already hurt when I caught up to him, it wasn't hard to take her from him."

Fubuki snatched Sakura up from his arms and quickly removed her binds, pulling the gag out gently to feel for the girl's breath while tears welled up in her eyes. Mebuki quickly kneeled and held both of her daughters close to her, tears falling from her eyes as she chuckled and whispered her thanks to the gods. The black haired boy stared at the three for a moment before he turned away from them, Just as he was about to jump away, he felt someone wrap their fingers around his wrist and pull him back slightly. Turning to look back at the person holding on to him, he stared down into Fubuki's tearful but smiling face.

"You're Tayuya's classmate, Itachi Uchiha right?" Fubuki asked, to which the boy nodded in agreement. "Thank you for saving my sister, I am in your debt." Fubuki released him and curled her self around Sakura who was still soundly asleep in her arms. "If you ever need anything, just ask."

Mebuki chuckled and patted Fubuki's head, Itachi stared again for a moment before he turned to leave again, only this time he felt someone else grab onto him. Mebuki laughed as she pulled Itachi into their hug, smothering the top of his head with words of thanks and kisses—something only his mother did. The Anbu team that was fallowing them chuckled at the scene, glade that the stoic boy could show emotion—they would have to find new ways to see him blush.

"I'm sorry to interrupt," the captain said as he stepped forward, a smile in his voice. "But where is the man who kidnapped Young Haruno-san?"

"I last saw him in that direction," Itachi said as he pointed in the direction that he had left the strange man. "He has a bad leg and he fell from the trees, I think he's hurt pretty bad."

"Looks like you hit your mark after all captain," the second in command chuckled as the team hurried into the forest. Itachi sighed as Mebuki tightened her hold on him, not letting him fallow after the team.

"Will you have breakfast with us, Uchiha-san?" Mebuki asked as she released both Itachi and Fubuki, rising to her full height. "It's the least we can do..." Itachi was about to protest but his stomach rumbled, the look on the blonde's face told Itachi he no longer had a choice in manner.

"Come on," Mebuki ordered as she grabbed Itachi's wrist and pulled him towards her home, Fubuki chuckled as she adjusted her hold on Sakura. "Let's introduce you to the rest of the family..." Itachi sighed as the blonde dragged him away, not wanting to be rude but feeling a little irritated with Fubuki's amused expression.

"Don't worry," Fubuki said as she ran beside him on the roofs. "She only get's worse if she decides to adopt you."

"I heard that," Mebuki mock-glared at her eldest

"Heard what, mother-dearest?" Fubuki asked with an innocent expression. "I didn't say anything..." Mebuki snorted and continued returning home, with Itachi in one hand while Fubuki held Sakura protectively. Fubuki gave Itachi a victorious smirk, her eyes lighting up like fireworks.

…

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><p>…<p>

**Okay so I know that I have to make the 28th chapter at least normal to the original story line, Team seven gets formed in it, but how do I go about it? Some changes have been made...**

**The Uchiha clan got socializing with the rest of the village and with Itachi taking his sweet time in the academy and taking his time advancing with his team instead of advancing through the ranks as fast as he wanted (forced), Danzo's theory and demands got shot to hell so the massacre never happened.**

**I know that in the 28th chapter should be a time skip of when Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura graduate together with the rest of the rookies; I just don't know if I should basically fallow the time line after that.**

**I know that when they go to the land of waves for the bridge builder... oh crud did I just mess that up? The bridge builder originally went to Konoha because the mist couldn't be trusted right?**

**What reason dose he have for wanting the leaf's help when the mist is ready, able and completely (slightly) sane?**

**I know what I want to write for that particular chapter, but I don't know how to go about it... **

**But I had plans for when they went into the land of waves... I haven't written it down yet but... should I just skip to it?**

**Skip the graduation and bell test and go straight to when Yagura senses Sakura in his land's borders? Should I do that?**

**By the way, how clear do most four year old's speak?**

**Just curious, I'm a little worried that I might have made Sakura too clear...**

**Thoughts are helpful**

**Opinions are wonderful**

**Helpful criticism****is**** lovely! Just don't cripple me okay?**** (Yes someone has actually tried to do so, I was shocked by their review which leads to my next request! **** )**

**Please no cursing!**

**And don't forget to**** rate and**** review!**

**Page 7**


	15. Chapter 15

**There is a reason**

Chapter 15: unexpected changes

Koomahana

**CRISIS ADVERTED! XD**

**I'm not sure why but my computer wouldn't turn on while it was plugged in, but now, at nine in the evening, IT'S WORKING! XD**

**This is an apology chapter!**

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><p><strong>I suggest listening to 'The sky and the dawn and the sun' by 'Celtic woman' for the last portion<strong>

**And yes, it's one of my favorite songs, I couldn't resist **

**I'll give you a head's up on when to start playing it **

**Disclaimer: Naruto is not mine; you want the real stuff get off this site**

_Thoughts_

_Paragraphs are memories_

…

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><p>…<p>

"Are you sure about this?" Hiruzen asked the small boy standing calmly in his office. "You know that you'll get bad feed back right?"

"I understand Lord Hokage," The young boy answered calmly. "I would like to graduate with my year mates. I will talk to my father about the matter, but I already have my mother's support." Hiruzen chuckled, yes he knew that Mikoto could be a force to be reckoned with if she chose to be. Fugaku won't fight with his wife on the mater, not if he wants to have another child... or keep his clan head status. A divorce is not looked well upon in the Uchiha clan.

"You have my blessing child," Hiruzen smiled at the boy, the young heir blinked in surprise at him for a moment before a small shy smile spread on his face. As sad as it was, the boy wasn't expecting a positive answer from him. "Do you have any thoughts on what I should tell your examiner about your disappearance act?"

"You can tell him I had more important business to attend to," Itachi suggested, his smile not faltering in the least. Hiruzen chuckled, his smile widening as he waved the boy away. Promising to relay the message to the examiner, who would most likely not be very pleased with the answer.

"Have a good day, Itachi-kun," Hiruzen said as the boy smiled back at him closed his office door behind him. "Well, what are you going to do now?" Hiruzen asked as he swiveled in his chair to look out his window where the boy's father was standing and listening in on the conversation.

"You watched us spend yesterday with the Haruno family didn't you?" Fugaku asked as he entered the office calmly. Hiruzen only smiled at him, such a silly question; he was worried too after all.

"Mebuki has already decided that he's family. If Itachi decides that he wants to move out of the compound he already has a place to live sorted out. Mebuki has the room for him and she's not about to pressure him into anything. Kizashi is bound to make him loosen up a little... and those girls..." Fugaku sighed as he rubbed at his brow tiredly. "Those daughters are trouble, there's no other way to describe them. Not even an hour after they met Itachi, they demanded he learn how to play the Piano so that one day when they all got to be on the same team they could be the only musical team that Konoha had."

"Forced?" Hiruzen asked with a knowing smile

"Okay so the youngest demanded and the other two ignored her." Fugaku corrected sarcastically, "I guess it's fair in away, Itachi picked a difficult instrument for the girl to learn."

"Did he now?" Hiruzen asked, chuckling at the memory of the scene he witnessed the previous day.

"..." Fugaku sighed again, folding his arms together. "The girl actually said that she'd learn how to play every string instrument she could find—because she didn't know what a violin was."

"Can't say she doesn't have a dream," Hiruzen chuckled. "She'll make a wonderful kunochi don't you think?"

"I would if not for the fact that her sisters are polar opposites, you can't use those two to decide the kind of kunochi that Sakura-an will be." Fugaku answered. "Tayuya spotted and disrupted every genjutsu I laid out in that house; she thought it was a game! And Fubuki was playing with the water in the pond they have in the back of the yard. She did it just to see Sakura giggle at the shapes she was making."

"You think Fubuki-chan has a bloodline?"

"I don't know," Fugaku answered with a thoughtful frown. "It's possible, I couldn't tell if she was just moving it or if she could freeze it too. I didn't want to activate my Sharingan and alarm her parents."

"I guess we'll just have to see what her chakra type is..." Hiruzen said thoughtfully. "Did you notice anything about Sakura-chan?"

"She likes to argue," Fugaku deadpanned. "She likes games too, particularly the difficult ones that are created by the Nara clan. She'll either be a terrifying politician or a horrifying Jonin."

"You don't think she can go any further then a Jonin?"

"It's too soon to know for sure," Fugaku replied, shrugging his shoulders dismissively. "She's intelligent that's for sure. The only thing that's guarantied at the moment is that she'll be a kunochi, what kind can only be determined by the people who influence her."

"Hmmm, interesting girl..." Hiruzen mused looking out his office window to stare at the Haruno house just down the street from the building.

"Lord Hokage," Fugaku called out, bringing Hiruzen's attention back to him. "I think it was a very wise thing for you to make that girl wait another two years to enter the academy."

"Oh? Why is that?" Hiruzen asked, "I thought you like people showing off their talents?"

"Yes, but the last thing this village needs is another Itachi Uchiha or Kakashi Hatake... or another Orochimaru..." Fugaku said lowly, not liking his words. All three men named were considered too be geniuses. Yet it was Orochimaru who defected because of jealousy; Itachi couldn't socialize with anyone his own age if he tried and Kakashi was obsessive about his damned orange books and slept with more women then Jiraya could dream of... well at least he gave off the impression of the later.

"What are you thinking Fugaku?" Hiruzen asked as he studied the man with sharp but tiered black eyes.

"I'm thinking that you saved this village from having another so called genius being socially awkward or... or being tempted... by our enemies..." Fugaku sighed, slumping against the wall, figures that now would be the time when his words failed him. "That girl needs to be with her family, she shouldn't be in the academy until she's older, like all the other children."

"You want to protect her form someone," Hiruzen murmured, "Who are you protecting her from?"

"Someone who's still after my son," Fugaku answered tiredly. "That man is after something and I can't figure out what it is."

"Do you know who this man is?"

"He's at the academy almost every day," Fugaku answered. "He's always watching my son, as if he's waiting for something brilliant to happen. If I can keep my son in the academy for a little longer... I might be able to keep that man away from him."

"But you can't be sure," Hiruzen guessed. "I'll see what I can't do to make sure strangers don't get too close to the academy from now on."

"He's not a stranger," Fugaku warned, "Do you know who I'm speaking about?"

"One of my council members who's stabbed me in the back once or twice before?" Hiruzen guessed sadly. "Yes I know who you're speaking about. I'm not all that surprised by it at all, in fact I should have seen it coming."

"He's one of those men who doesn't leave a paper trail behind," Fugaku sighed. "No wonder you can't get rid of him. Can you even get him off your council?"

"I'll need a reason," Hiruzen sighed, closing his eyes in disappointment

"I can fabricate one," Fugaku offered honestly, making Hiruzen's head snap up to study him carefully

"That wouldn't work," Hiruzen chuckled with a warm smile, relieved that Danzo's words about the Uchiha's betrayal were faults—not that he believed in them to begin with. "but thank you."

"As you wish," Fugaku smiled and bowed his head to Hiruzen slightly, just enough to be respectful. "It's kind of depressing that he holds so much power without even trying. Guess it could be worse..."

"Who could be worse then my old friend?" Hiruzen asked with a raised eyebrow

"Orochimaru could still be in the village and/or his experiments still going on without our knowledge," Fugaku answered. "Truthfully, I'd rather Danzo as a council member then Orochimaru as a councilmember."

"I can never forgive my self..." Hiruzen murmured, depressed by the memory of his once favorite student. "I don't think I would have won back then and I don't think I could win against him now..."

"I doubt that there are many in this world who can handle that man," Fugaku reassured softly, marveled by the third's words. "At least we know that someday we'll have someone strong enough to take him out; If not multiple someone's."

"Fugaku-kun, what are you planning now?" Hiruzen asked with that wiry smile forming on his lips again.

"I'm thinking it's about time our village clans got together..." Fugaku murmured thoughtfully, his eyes distant as he stared out the window behind him. "Minato was thinking about it before... before the Kiyobi..."

"A clan get together?" Hiruzen asked, "How do you plan to pull that off?"

"By throwing a party every month," Fugaku said thoughtfully, it was just a passing thought between them and the details were never hammered out because they soon learned of Kushina's pregnancy and then there was the Kiyobi attack... "Each week it'll be held at a different clan compound, to bring the clan's together. I'll through the first few, just to get the others used to it..."

"I think you should have a talk to a few of the other clan heads," Hiruzen chuckled beginning to like the idea already. "It might do you some good."

"You think they'll actually stop to listen to what I have to say?" Fugaku asked with a frown on his face. "Last time I checked they don't exactly like me."

"You haven't given them any reason to," Hiruzen replied in amusement. "I support the idea Fugaku-kun. I'll send out the invites to the clan heads. Let's have the first one at my estate, are you okay with that?"

"What clan head wouldn't go to the Hokage's mansion for a party?" Fugaku chuckled with agreement.

…

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><p>…<p>

**I suggest turning that song on now **

…

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><p>…<p>

Kakashi sighed behind his Anbu mask, once again another storm swept through the village and, once again, he was sitting in the corner of a pinkette's room; said pinkette sitting in his lap trembling like a leaf. An hour ago, Tayuya had entered fearfully herself; she now leaned against his right side, sleeping softly. Not even five minutes after Tayuya, Fubuki, the over protective mother cougar, stepped into the room worriedly, Kakashi nodded at her and she soon joined them in the corner, on the floor. At least she was smart enough to grab a blanket and wrap it around them before she dozed off to his left. As time passed Sakura's eyes would close and her breathing would calm but with a large boom or a bright flash of light from the storm outside, Sakura would waking instantly. It was amusing the first time, seeing her nearly jump out of her skin, but his amusement soon died when he saw just how afraid Sakura truly was.

"Shh, shh, I'm here," Kakashi whispered when Sakura whimpered, clinging to him tightly. He sighed and adjusted his hold, trying to get feeling back in his arm; Kakashi flinched when a loud boom echoed over head, making Sakura give out a startled cry. He patted her back gently, trying to think of a way to calm the little girl down; he tried to remember what his father did when he was afraid of something as a child. The memory was quick like a flash of lightning behind his eyes, his father's voice deep and soft, singing a song his mother once sang.

"_High is the moon tonight  
>Hiding it's guiding light, high<br>Heaven and earth do sleep, still in the dark so deep  
>I will the darkness sweep<em>

_I will the moon to flight, I will the heaven's bright  
>I will the earth to light<br>Open your eyes with me, see paradise with me  
>Awake and arise with me<em>"

Kakashi shifted uncomfortably between the three girls, not knowing if he was hitting the notes right. He remembered the song the way his mother sang it, soft but cheerful.

"_I am the dawn, I'm the new day begun  
>I bring you the morning, I bring you the sun<br>I hold back the night and I open the skies  
>I give light to the world, I give sight to your eyes<em>

_From the first of all time, until time is undone  
>Forever and ever and ever and ever<br>And I am the dawn and the sky and the sun  
>I am one with the one and I am the dawn<em>_"_

His father sang it differently, low and soft like a lullaby he forgot the words too. While he was making it clumsy and hesitant, his deep voice almost sounding threatening and awkward with the notes. He hummed some words instead of saying them because he couldn't remember all the lyrics to the song.

"_I am the sky and the dawn and the sun  
>I am the sky and the new day begun<br>I am the sky and the dawn and the sun_"

By the time he was finished singing, humming some parts and stumbling over others, Sakura was sound asleep and the storm was over. Looking to his left curiously, he saw that Mebuki was leaning against the doorway to Sakura's room, blankets and pillows in her arms and tears in her eyes.

"Let me help you," Mebuki whispered as she gave him a watery smile. She gently lifted the blanket, pulling Fubuki closer to her as she did so. Kakashi nodded his thanks as he gently pushed Tayuya against the wall, trying to get her to lean against it before she fell on the floor. Trying to rise to his feet with Sakura asleep in his arms was a little more difficult then he would have thought, especially when he had to freeze at the sound Tayuya groaning in her sleep and turning towards the closest thing giving off heat.

Kakashi always wondered why Tayuya looked as if she hit her head daily, now he understood. He flinched when Fubuki soon joined her sister on the floor, yet neither wakened, he didn't know to be worried or impressed. Slowly he turned on the balls of his feet and gently laid Sakura on Tayuya's stomach beside Fubuki's head. It was amusing to see that both girls were using Tayuya as a pillow. Gently Kakashi placed the blanket back over the sisters, gently placing another around Fubuki and a pillow beneath Tayuya's head.

Nodding to Mebuki as he stood, Kakashi quickly left the Haruno house, his mission that came and went with the stormy season finally over until next year when the storms returned. He quickly reported to Hiruzen, skipping his bad singing part, and received his next mission.

It would be another year before he saw the Haruno sisters again and again he would sing them to sleep, slowly growing more confident about the song with each storm that passed through.

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><p>…<p>

**Thoughts are helpful**

**Opinions are wonderful**

**Helpful criticism****is**** lovely! Just don't cripple me okay?**

**Please no cursing!**

**And don't forget to**** rate and**** review!**

**Page 7**


	16. Chapter 16

**There is a reason**

Chapter 16: The first Music lesson

Koomahana

**Fubuki was 10 when she met Sakura & 11 when she was taken to the leaf village**

**Tayuya was 8 when she met Sakura & 9 when she was taken to the leaf village**

**Sakura was 3 when she was taken and returned to the leaf village**

**Yagura was 20 when he first met Sakura and 21 when he returned to his body.**

**Yagura is 17 years older then Sakura**

**Fubuki is 7 years older than Sakura and 2 years older then Tayuya**

**Tayuya is 5 years older than Sakura**

**They are now:**

**Fubuki is now 11 ½ years old— (Same age as Shisui and Shikan)**

**Tayuya is now 9 ½ years old— (Same age as Itachi and Hana)**

**Sakura is now 4 ½ years old— (Same age as Naruto and Sasuke)**

**Okay I'm sorry i was sick last week so I didn't update, this is last week's update :)**

**Disclaimer: Naruto is not mine; you want the real stuff get off this site**

_Thoughts_

_Paragraphs are memories_

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"Fu-nee what are you reading?" Sakura asked as she climbed onto her sister's pale blue bed, dragging her stuffed puppy with her. Fubuki smiled and set her scroll to the side, choosing to pick Sakura up and settle her beside her.

"I'm reading about herbs" Fubuki answered as she pulled her scroll back over to her.

"What's a herb?" Sakura asked slowly, trying to say it correctly

"A herb is a plant that can be eaten," Fubuki chuckled. "They can be used for medicine or for daily meals."

"Hay I know that one!" Sakura said as she pointed at flower drawn in the scroll. "Mommy grows that one in the guardian."

"Yes she does," Fubuki agreed. "Do you know where else you've seen it?" Sakura scrunched her face up in thought after a moment Fubuki decided to have mercy other little sister. "How about in the salads Mom makes from time to time?"

"I knew that" Sakura grumbled, crossing her arms and pouting. Fubuki chuckled and continued reading, when she noticed Sakura trying to read with her, Fubuki wrapped one arm around her and started to read aloud, one finger running accurse the words so Sakura knew what she was reading.

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"Hurry up Sakura!" Tayuya shouted as she all but picked up her little sister and started running. "We're going to be late!"

"We will be if you don't let me pick up my violin!" Sakura shouted back, Tayuya put Sakura down and jumped back and forth on her feet as Sakura ran back down the street to grab her violin case. When she did she turned ran full tilt back to Tayuya, not seeing the two sets of surprised pale eyes watching her go.

"Hurry up!" Tayuya shouted, grabbing Sakura's arm the second she was within range and ran full tilt up the striate and skidded to a halt in front of the music school where they were begin their first lessons.

"Sorry if we're late," Tayuya said as she opened the door and all but pushed Sakura through first. Pale eyes blinked up the road curiously, a wooden key chain with wisps' of water, snow flakes and a flower carved on it in hand.

"Hinata-Hime, is everything okay?" The shy child jumped at the familiar voice, turning Hinata nodded her head and showed the young man what she was holding. "Well isn't that pretty, are you going to keep it?" Hinata looked up the street then down at her hand, looking back up to her cousin she shrugged her shoulders softly, unsure if she try to return it or keep it.

"How about we stop by a few of those shops and see if anyone recognize it?" Hinata smiled and took her cousin's hand as he led the way up the street, when he stopped at the first store they came too; Hinata shook her head and pulled him towards the one she had seen the two pink haired girls enter. Chuckling, her cousin fallowed her into the music studio; they waited together until the manager was available. However, when Hinata saw a splash of pink, she let go of her cousin and quickly fallowed after the girl, her cousin clueless as he spoke to the manager. Hinata paused at the entrance to large room with multiple instruments strewn throughout the room, curious Hinata stepped into the room.

"Hello," Hinata squeaked in surprise when the voice sounded behind her, turning Hinata stare fearfully up at the taller pink haired girl she had seen in the street. "Are you lost?" The girl asked, pulling her kimono tight in front of her locker. Hinata didn't answer as she shifted uncomfortably, when the girl hissed in realization that she had gotten the ties wrong again, Hinata stepped forward and helped the older girl pull her dress together.

"Thank you," the girl chuckled as she held out her arms and looked down at herself in amusement, impressed that the girl could help her. "How old are you anyways? You don't look much older then my sister..." Hinata shifted uncomfortably again before she held up four fingers.

"Ah, you are the same age as my sister," the girl grinned pointing a down the wall. "She's over there. Neither one of us have worn Kimono's much..." Hinata looked up at the smaller pinkette and watched as she tripped and landed on the ground in a pile of clothes. "Okay make that never before... Kaa-chan unsurely helps Imoto, but she's not here and we're both on our own."

"Ta-nee can you help me?" the younger girl asked as she rose back to her feet. "I don't get it! How can anyone get dressed with all these layers on?" Shyly Hinata fallowed the older girl towards her sister, clutching the wooden key-chain close.

"Hold on," the girl chuckled as she kneeled and tried to help Sakura. "I think it goes like this... then like this... maybe like this?"

"Tayuya-nee how did you get dressed so fast?" the girl asked, Tayuya smiled and looked back at Hinata who was half hiding behind her.

"This cutie helped me out," Tayuya answered. "Strangely she hasn't said a single word to me. She just walked up and started to help me."

"Huh?" Sakura turned slightly to look at the tiny child hiding behind Tayuya; she blinked for a few minutes before she smiled and held a hand out to the shy girl. "My name is Sakura Haruno and this is my older sister, Tayuya Haruno. Thank you for helping her." Hinata smiled shyly as she stepped forward and shook Sakura's hand gently.

"There all done!" Tayuya cheered clapping her hands together; Sakura looked down at her dress and cringed.

"Um... I don't suppose you can help me, can you?" Sakura asked as she undid her sister's work. Tayuya pouted before standing and leaving the changing room, waiting just out side of it for the two.

"Thank you," Sakura said as Hinata slowly showed Sakura how to do it correctly, Sakura memorized every step to the best of her ability. Watching her work, Sakura felt rather dumb for not figuring it out sooner.

"Are you mute?" Sakura asked when the girl was done, Hinata blushed brightly and shook her head. "You just have hard a time speaking, right?" Hinata fidgeted before she nodded slowly, Sakura did something that Hinata didn't think she would do. Sakura grinned and clasped her hands tightly.

"Why don't you take some music classes here?" Sakura suggested, "If you can't say something then you can use music to say it for you. That's the cool thing about music, what you can't say the music can." Hinata stared wide eyed at Sakura, surprised by her words.

_She's the same age as me..._ Hinata thought looking down at her hands in wonder. _Yet she can speak so clearly... why can't I be like that?_

"Hay cheer up," Sakura grinned at Hinata, making the girl blush. "If you're not a student here, you can always ask your guardians. You don't have to verbally ask your question, you can always write it down if you want."

Hinata blinked and nodded in agreement, she would like to return to the school and learn with this strange pink haired girl. Pointing to the bench, Hinata gestured to Sakura that she would do her hair, Sakura grinned and nodded. Taking her seat easily, Sakura pulled her hair out of her way and let Hinata pull it out of her way. Hinata sighed as she ran her fingers through Sakura's long hair; she had never seen anyone with such long hair, even within her own clan. Tugging and pulling at the smooth strands gently, Hinata pulled Sakura's long hair into a low ponytail, similar to a few of her cousins.

"Thank you," Sakura grinned at Hinata, brushing her bangs behind her ear. "I never really thought about tying my hair back, I know nii-tan wanted me too... but I never did..." Sakura sighed at the memory of a boy she could barely remember. It had been so long since she last seen his face and she was afraid that she was starting to forget him. Hinata opened and closed her mouth repeatedly for a moment before she placed a reassuring hand on Sakura's shoulder, waking the pinkette from her thoughts. Sakura smiled at her and before she could say anything both girls heard a high pitch scream from the hallway. Worried and slightly scared, Hinata hid behind Sakura as the pinkette walked towards the exit.

"Nee-chan?" Sakura called peaking around the corner of the dressing room. "What's going on?"

"Stay back Sakura!" Tayuya ordered from where she stood protectively in front of the doorway, one flute in hand and her other thrust out at her side to keep Sakura and Hinata out of view.

"How many times do I have to say that I'm searching for a little girl?" the man in front of Tayuya asked, taking another step forward. "I have to get her back home—"

"You're not taking another step, you creep!" Tayuya hissed angrily. "This is the girl's changing room, get out!"

"But—"

"I said leave or so help me—"

"You'll what? Throw your flute at me?" the man asked sarcastically, "look just let me through—" Tayuya growled as the man took a step forward, before he could continue Tayuya started to play her flute and weaved her chakra through it targeting the strange man specifically.

"Tayuya-nee!" Sakura shouted, covering her ears at her sister's slightly better music. "Stop playing! You're going to make _me_ go deaf!" Tayuya ignored Sakura's jab as she continued focusing on the strange man trying to enter the girl's changing room. The man hissed and clasped at his hands over his ears, growling when he saw that his equilibrium was thrown off by the girl's shrill music.

"Sakura now!" Tayuya shouted, pausing in her playing, "Take the girl and get to a teacher! Tell her a strange man tried to enter the girl's changing room!" The man grunted pulling himself back up again, Tayuya growled and returned to her playing, not bothering to wait for her sister's answer.

Understanding what was going on, Sakura grabbed Hinata's hand quickly left the room through the other door on the other side of the room. Once on the other side Sakura pulled Hinata along with her, shouting for the manager as they both hurried down the hall. When they got to the reception desk, the teachers were already hurrying towards them worriedly. Sakura ignored the man standing at the desk as she recited everything to the adult women, who didn't appear to be happy but not angry either. One of the older women didn't bother listening to Sakura's explanation, she took off down the hall faster then anyone stopped to notice.

"...Pleases help her!" Sakura gasped at last, her hand tightening on Hinata's. "Ta-nee isn't the best musician but there was no reason for the man to be on the ground! Tayuya-nee isn't that bad!"

"Sakura-chan I want you to take your friend and sit here," the woman running the school said as she pushed both girls towards a pair of chairs nearby. "I'll go see if there's anything I can do to help her." the woman was down the hall before Sakura could agree. Turning to Hinata, Sakura tried to give her a reassuring smile.

"Hinata," a gruff voice called, making both girl's jump. "What are you doing here?" Sakura was on her feet and standing in front of Hinata protectively faster then the man thought she could move.

"Who are you?" Sakura demanded glaring up at the strange man dressed in cream-colored robes.

"I'm Hinata's father, Hiashi." The man answered with narrowed eyes, Sakura blinked dumbly at him before she twisted and look at Hinata curiously. Hinata nodded with a small blush on her cheeks, Sakura turned to Hiashi and smiled. Chuckling nervously Sakura relaxed her stance and scratched the back of her head sheepishly.

"Sorry about that mister," Sakura apologized. "There was a strange man demanding to enter the girl's locker room so he could take a girl home with him." Sakura pointed down the hall where the sound of silence had over taken her sister's flute. "Sorry for jumping to con-clue-shians," Sakura frowned when she realized she miss pronounced the word. "Con-clue-shians," Sakura tried again and growled when she got it wrong again.

"Conclusions?" Hiashi asked with a raised eyebrow, Sakura smiled shyly at him

"Yeah, that one..."

"Well how the hell was I supposed to know that?!" Tayuya's voice shouted down the hall, making Sakura flinch at the volume. "He didn't say that! He just said he needed to get a girl to take back to his house! He was gesturing to the locker room! Of course, I assumed the worst! My little sister and her friend were the only ones in there!" Hiashi closed his eyes and took a deep, calming breath as one of his relatives snickered behind him.

"That's no excuse to use such a powerful genjutsu against him," one of the female instructors said as she pulled Tayuya down the hall by her ear.

"A gen-what?" Tayuya asked when the woman finally let go of her, only to point at a chair next to Sakura and Hinata.

"You don't know what Genjutsu is?" the woman asked curiously, one hand on her hip

"Umm..."

"Genjutsu is the art of illusions," Sakura whispered to Tayuya helpfully

"Thanks," Tayuya whispered back, "Of course I know what a Ganjutsu is, it's the art of illusions."

"G_e_njutsu," Sakura whispered to Tayuya. "I said G_e_njutsu"

"Oh... I meant to say Genjutsu..." Tayuya corrected quickly, the woman's unimpressed look said that she didn't buy it. "Am I in trouble?" Tayuya asked giving up her act

"You attached a Hyūga clan member when he was trying to retrieve his charge," the woman said gesturing towards Hinata. "Not only that but you used a powerful sound Genjutsu that possibly did some real damage to his hearing."

"Huh? Tayuya-nee is bad, but she can't be that bad!" Sakura deafened her sister in confusion. Hiashi tried very hard not to show his amusement at the girl's words, 'Tayuya's expression was a mix of insult and thanks. She was thankful that her sister was trying to help, but she was insulted by her sister's choice of words.

"How is he?" Hiashi finally asked, drawing the woman's attention back to his person.

"Hiashi-sama!" the woman gasped, snapping around to address him respectfully. "Yuhi-san and another of my teachers is taking him to the hospital to have his ear's checked. He was unconscious when we found him."

"Is your playing that bad?" Sakura asked Tayuya, "I thought you said you've improved since you got it?"

"I have," Tayuya growled at Sakura, her face red.

"Are you sure?" Sakura asked curiously, "Because the first time you played the flute, you broke mommy's favorite cup, not her head." Tayuya slapped Sakura's head, forcing her little sister to tend to the wound on her head then to ask her embarrassing questions.

"If you're that bad then you really do need an instructor," the woman grumbled looking back at Tayuya thoughtfully. Tayuya bowed her head and sighed in depression

"Hay do you have any Violin teachers?" Sakura asked, trying not to cry at the throbbing pain in her head.

"I do," the woman agreed, looking down at Sakura. "Do you want to learn some Genjutsu's too?"

"No," Sakura answered bluntly, surprising the woman. "I just want to learn how to play the instrument."

"Well that's a surprise," another woman's voice said, flinching both Sakura and Tayuya stared wide-eyed as another woman landed between them and the woman, crimson eyes staring calculatingly down at the two of them. "Your sister is a natural at Genjutsu... I wonder if you are too..."

"Um..." Tayuya and Sakura shared a confused look,

"I'm four and a half," Sakura informed the woman, "I won't be entering the academy until I'm six."

"Then I'll be waiting here for you," the woman said with a smile. Again, Tayuya and Sakura shared an unsure look.

"We're not here to learn any jutsu's miss," Tayuya said, shifting in the chair when the two grown women looked at her curiously. "We're here to learn how to play our chosen instruments. I want to know how to play the flute and Sakura wants to know how to play the violin. That's all."

"That's all?" the red-eyed woman repeated curiously. "Are you sure about that?" again the sisters looked at each other nervously.

"I think we'll worry about those sound Genjutsu's later," Sakura said looking at the strange woman. "Like _after_ we've gotten a good handle on our chakra network..."

"... Sounds reasonable," the woman hummed, she nodded at the head of the school before disappearing again.

"I have to learn how to do that," Tayuya said with a smile shared with Sakura

"You'll have to wait until you're high Chunin," the teacher replied shaking her head. "That's typically reserved for Jonin, but some Chunin can use it." Tayuya grinned down at Sakura again, a determined but cheerful look in her hazel eyes.

"I am so learning that trick,"

Sakura smiled back at Tayuya, knowing that she would have to show her older sister where the library was later

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><p>…<p>

**PS: I'm NOT giving away what the content is between chapters 17 and 27!**

**Nice try though **

**I'm having trouble with 28 and I already told you about it!**

**That's about as close to a sneak peak as you all are going to get! **

**Oh yeah I forgot to ask, how do you spell that nickname Sasuke uses to call Naruto?**

**I know Naruto calls Sasuke 'Teme' which means 'bastard' but how do you spell Sasuke's word for Naruto? Is dub or doub?**

**should I kill Zabuza and Haku?**

**Are you mad that I'm taking my sweet time through Sakura's new life with two over protective sisters?**

**Should I change the intro?**

**How about the rating?**

**Thoughts are helpful**

**Opinions are wonderful**

**Helpful criticism****is**** lovely! Just don't cripple me okay?**

**Please no cursing!**

**And don't forget to**** rate and**** review!**

**Page 9**


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